Thai Red Curry Noodles With Vegetables

By Melissa Clark

Published January 16, 2018

  • Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
50 minutes
Rating
4(927)
Comments
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Think of this dish as red curry noodles, version 2.0. By doctoring up jarred red curry paste with fresh chile, garlic, ginger, lemongrass and spices, this dish gets a much more complex, intense flavor than the usual version. Once you have all the ingredients at the ready, the dish comes together quickly. And you’ll have enough leftover curry paste to make this again, even faster the next time. Omit the fish sauce (use soy instead) and egg to make this a vegan dish.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

FOR THE PASTE

  • ¼ cup lightly packed cilantro leaves and stems (white roots, too, if available)

  • 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

  • 1 shallot, sliced

  • 1 fresh hot red chile, seeded and roughly chopped

  • 2 tablespoons prepared Thai red curry paste

  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil

  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

  • 1 lemongrass stalk, tough outer leaves trimmed off, inner leaves finely chopped

  • Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime

  • 2 teaspoons Asian fish sauce

  • 1 teaspoon curry powder

  • ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds

  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander

FOR THE NOODLES

  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil

  • 5 ounces sliced shiitake mushrooms (about 3 cups)

  • 6 scallions, thinly sliced

  • 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

  • 1 fresh hot red chile, seeded and thinly sliced

  • Kosher salt

  • 4 ounces thin dried noodles, such as ramen, egg noodles, rice noodles, etc.

  • 1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk

  • 1 ½ tablespoons Asian fish sauce, more to taste

  • Juice of ½ lime, plus more to taste

  • 1 cup sliced red bell pepper

  • 1 cup sliced snow peas or green beans

  • 5 ounces baby bok choy, spinach or tatsoi torn into bite-size pieces

  • Lime wedges, for garnish

  • Optional garnishes (use all or any combination of the following): ½ cup thinly sliced radishes; torn basil, mint, or cilantro leaves; sesame seeds; halved hard-cooked eggs

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

48 grams carbs; 1 milligram cholesterol; 524 calories; 2 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 30 grams saturated fat; 36 grams fat; 6 grams fiber; 938 milligrams sodium; 9 grams protein; 8 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Prepare the curry paste: In a blender or mini food processor, combine cilantro, garlic, shallot, chile, red curry, coconut oil, ginger, lemongrass, zest and juice of 1 lime, fish sauce, curry powder, cumin and coriander. Blend into a paste, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed. If mixture is too thick to blend, add teaspoon or two of water as needed.

  2. Step 2

    In a large skillet, heat coconut oil over medium heat. Stir in mushrooms, half the scallions, garlic, chile and a large pinch of salt. Sauté until golden, 10 to 12 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

  4. Step 4

    Stir ¼ cup curry paste mixture into skillet and cook until fragrant and darkened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir coconut milk into skillet along with remaining 1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce, and juice of ½ lime.

  5. Step 5

    Add red pepper, snow peas and ½ teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in bok choy and cook until wilted, 2 to 4 minutes longer.

  6. Step 6

    Fold in noodles, tossing until coated with sauce and heated through. Add fish sauce or lime juice to taste, and pass lime wedges at the table. Top with remaining scallions and any of the optional garnishes. Serve with lime wedges on the side. Store the extra curry paste in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks, or freeze for up to 3 months.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
927 user ratings
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Comments

DRC PGH

Thai curries are an excellent way to use up leftover bits of roast chicken, for example. And as Ms. Clark points out, you don't even have to add anything to the curry paste-- it's already in there. A favorite chez nous is to sear some salmon and steam some mussels, serve those over fragrant jasmine rice napped with a hastily assembled sauce of just the paste and a can of coconut milk stirred together over medium heat. A little cilantro on top is helpful.

Michelle

Coconut aminos works well as a sub for fish sauce...

Maggie

A really delightful flavored curry. The lime, coconut and lemongrass make for a great mingling of flavors. I did add some veggie broth, so that may have lightened it up. Also, if you are a vegetarian, you can substitute mushroom flavored sauce for fish sauce. I found it in the Asian aisle of my supermarket.

Susan

Really good with the addition of some peanuts for crunch!

jenny

1/4 lb of snow peas is enough and 1 red bell pepper

Eliz.

This recipe works for those trying to figure out what to do with yuba, i.e. the skin leftover from making tofu and (formerly?) sold as frozen tofu sheets by Trader Joe's. I simply cut the amount of coconut milk in half and divided the yuba into noodles by hand. I also omitted coconut oil due to issues w saturated fat. Organic sunflower oil served me just fine.

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