One-pot Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup

20 November 2024

Everyday Eats by Jasmin Weston

Serves: 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

60 g red curry paste

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

400 ml canned coconut cream

1 litre (4 cups) stock of your choice

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

zest and juice of 1 lime

handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

1 red capsicum, finely sliced

2 heads of baby pak choy, trimmed and leaves separated

500 g chicken breast fillets, cut into 2.5.cm dice

100–120 g vermicelli rice noodles

TO SERVE

handful of fresh bean sprouts

long red chilli, finely sliced

fresh coriander leaves

lime wedges

RECIPE
1. Mise en place (get all your ingredients and equipment ready before you start).

2. Heat a large pot over medium–low heat. Once hot, add the red curry paste and cook for 1 2 minutes or until fragrant. You’ll know when it’s ready as your eyes may start watering or you might even sneeze. Curry pastes are POTENT.

It’s important to cook the paste out to allow the spices and aromatics to release all of their natural oils and compounds. Failing to cook out the paste can result in a super bland and bitter flavour. It’s also easy to burn the paste if you have the heat too high, so keep a close eye and nose on it.

3. Once the paste is cooked, add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.

Adding garlic too early can cause it to burn. Remember, be calculated when you add garlic to a dish. It only needs a fraction of time before it starts to turn bitter.

4. Add the coconut cream, stock, fish sauce, sugar, lime zest and juice and coriander and bring it to a low simmer.

5. Taste the soup to ensure it’s exactly how you like. Remember Rule #6: Season, Taste, Season, Taste. More lime? Sugar? Salt?

6. Add the veggies and chicken to the soup, reduce the heat to low, cover and allow the heat to cook the veggies and chicken for about 10–15 minutes.

7. Once the chicken is cooked, add the vermicelli noodles and continue cooking until the noodles are soft and chewy. This will only take 2 minutes.

8. Serve the noodle soup topped with the bean sprouts, chilli and coriander, with the lime wedges on the side. Devour!