Unofficial Disney Parks Epcot Cookbook Cover — Unofficial Disney Parks Epcot Cookbook by Ashley Craft

When I lived near Orlando, I loved strolling through the parks and eating at the many restaurants. EPCOT, with all its myriad of dining choices, was my favorite.

I had a goal to try every restaurant, and a method to my madness. Once a week, I would eat in a different country’s pavilion, trying a different establishment that I hadn’t tried before. But, now, I no longer live in Mickey’s backyard. I miss Disney, but we’ve tried to mitigate that by planning the occasional visit (and even celebrated our anniversary at the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival). So, I’m super excited about the Unofficial Disney Parks Epcot Cookbook by Ashley Craft from Simon and Schuster publishing!

The Unofficial Disney Parks Epcot features 100 recipes from each of the EPCOT Pavilions and festivals. This Salt and Pepper Shrimp with Spinach Noodles comes from the Nine Dragons Restaurant in the China Pavilion. By the way, we ate at the Nine Dragons during our vacation, and it was amazing! So, even if I am not in a driving distance to the “happiest place on Earth,” I can relive the memorable meals in my own kitchen!

CategoryMain DishDifficultyIntermediate

The spinach noodles lend an original flavor (and color!) to this dish. Spinach noodles may not be sold at big-box stores, but you can locate them at most regular grocery stores or specialty stores. Of course, if you prefer plain linguine, that works just as well! Play around with different noodle varieties.

Excerpted from The Unofficial Disney Parks EPCOT Cookbook by Ashley Craft. Copyright © 2022 by Ashley Craft. Photos by Harper Point Photography. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

Salt and Pepper Shrimp with Spinach Noodles Recipe

Yields2 Servings

1 cup plus 1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil, divided

20 Large cooked tail-on shrimp

1 cup cornstarch

2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp course seal salt

1 small white onion, peeled and sliced into strips

½ medium red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips

1 tsp minced fresh garlic

1 tsp ginger paste

½ tsp red pepper flakes

¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce

3 tbsp light brown sugar

½ lb cooked spinach linguine

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat 1 cup oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat to 375°F. Line a large plate with paper towels.

Soak frozen shrimp in room-temperature water 5 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.

Mix cornstarch, black pepper, and salt together in a small shallow bowl and coat shrimp in mixture, shaking off excess. Carefully slide 5 shrimp into hot oil and cook 1–2 minutes until lightly fried. Transfer to prepared plate and repeat with remaining shrimp. Carefully discard hot oil once cooled and clean wok.

Return wok to stove over medium heat and add remaining 1 teaspoon oil, onion, and bell pepper. Cook over medium heat 1 minute. Add garlic, ginger paste, and red pepper flakes. Cook 1 minute. Add soy sauce and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer
3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Toss spinach linguine in sauce in wok. Divide between two bowls and top each bowl with 10 shrimp and 2 tablespoons cilantro. Serve immediately.

Ingredients