Thai Red Curry Noodles With Vegetables

By Melissa Clark

Thai Red Curry Noodles With Vegetables
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
50 minutes
Rating
4(893)
Comments
Read comments

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.

Featured in: The Secret to Better Thai Dishes May Already Be in Your Fridge

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

    For the Paste

    • ¼cup lightly packed cilantro leaves and stems (white roots, too, if available)
    • 2cloves garlic, roughly chopped
    • 1shallot, sliced
    • 1fresh hot red chile, seeded and roughly chopped
    • 2tablespoons prepared Thai red curry paste
    • 1tablespoon coconut oil
    • 1tablespoon grated fresh ginger
    • 1lemongrass stalk, tough outer leaves trimmed off, inner leaves finely chopped
    • Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
    • 2teaspoons Asian fish sauce
    • 1teaspoon curry powder
    • ¾teaspoon cumin seeds
    • ½teaspoon ground coriander

    For the Noodles

    • 3tablespoons coconut oil
    • 5ounces sliced shiitake mushrooms (about 3 cups)
    • 6scallions, thinly sliced
    • 3cloves garlic, thinly sliced
    • 1fresh hot red chile, seeded and thinly sliced
    • Kosher salt
    • 4ounces thin dried noodles, such as ramen, egg noodles, rice noodles, etc.
    • 1(14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
    • 1½tablespoons Asian fish sauce, more to taste
    • Juice of ½ lime, plus more to taste
    • 1cup sliced red bell pepper
    • 1cup sliced snow peas or green beans
    • 5ounces 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)

524 calories; 36 grams fat; 30 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 48 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 938 milligrams sodium

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.

Powered by

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 1½ 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.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
893 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

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.

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.

Greta K

It tasted too much like cilantro for me and I love cilantro...

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.