I’ve been very into these Red Curry Noodles lately. We have a similar recipe for Shrimp and Red Curry Noodle soup, that’s always been popular on the blog, but with summer and the heat still lingering I wanted to do something a little less ‘steaming hot soup’, so I modified the recipe a bit so that these are just basically red curry coated noodles. They’re still served hot and packed with tons of flavor, just without the billows of hot coconut-curry broth steaming in your face. :)
This recipe is so simple because we’re using store bought curry paste. Sometimes I get nervous about using things like pre-made pastes and sauces because I’m afraid they’ll be filled with ridiculous amounts of sodium and preservatives, but I’ve found that most commercial thai-style curry pastes I’ve encountered only use a handful of easy to read (and common) ingredients and usually aren’t made with and preservatives at all (they usually use fish sauce as a ‘natural preservative’). It can totally be worth it to make your own curry pastes, especially if you want to be able to customize the flavors, but for todays purposes, we’re using the store bought stuff so you’re in and out of the kitchen in about 20 minutes! Enjoy! xx, Jenny
Ingredients: Directions:
Red Curry Noodles
Serves 3 to 4
8 ounces flat rice noodles (medium width, same as used for Pad Thai)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
3 tablespoons minced shallots
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons minced ginger
2 Thai chiles, split in half lengthwise
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 (15 ounce) can coconut milk
1 small can sliced bamboo shoots, drained
1 (15 ounce) can baby corn, drained and cut to 1 inch pieces
2 kaffir lime leaves or juice 1 lime
garnish:
cilantro leaves
lime zest
sliced chives
lime wedges, on the side
1. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
2. Add noodles, cover and remove from heat. Allow noodles to soak/soften for about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. Pour oil into a large saucepan and place over medium-high heat.
4. Add shallots, garlic, ginger, chiles, bamboo shoots and baby corn. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Stir in curry paste and sauté until fragrant, an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Reduce heat to medium heat and stir in coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Gently crush kaffir leaves in your hand and stir into the mixture (or stir in lime juice).
8. Once the mixture begins to simmer add noodles and continue to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. At this time you can discard the chile halves if you wish.
9. Adjust seasonings and top with chives and lime zest. Serve with lime wedges.
Do pics match ingredients?
Yes! (They do now!)
Finally recognized the baby corn in the photo but not in the list of ingredients. Seems like a good addition to a great recipe!
A good Thai friend says that its uncommon for the average Thai person (at least from her region) to make their own curry paste. They just go to the market and buy it so using a pre-made paste doesn’t necessarily take away from the authenticity.