The star of these red curry noodles? Thai red curry paste. These little cans of magic can single-handedly pack a flavor punch in any meat, vegetable, or noodle dish you can dream up.
That’s right, you can get that delightfully exotic red curry flavor without the trouble of finding all of the obscure Southeast Asian ingredients needed to make it. Your local Asian grocery store may not have fresh kaffir lime, lemongrass, or galangal, but they are almost sure to have red curry paste in a can.
The Versatility of Red Curry Paste
The red curry paste in my pantry usually goes towards making two main dishes: this red curry chicken and this coconut curry noodle soup. But recently, I’ve been expanding my red curry horizons, with this (vegan!) red curry tofu and now today’s red curry noodle stir-fry recipe.
Like many of my kitchen exploits, this red curry noodle recipe was the result of a desire to use up leftovers––odds and ends that I had at the end of a weekend blogging session. Half a can of red curry paste, a bit of leftover coconut milk, and some vegetables that we had in the fridge.
These “fridge cleanout” meals, as I call them, are often the ones I’m proudest of. Nothing says, “you’re a pretty good cook” like taking a bunch of miscellaneous, perhaps even seemingly disparate items from your refrigerator or pantry and turning them into a dish that tastes oh so right.
Note that for this recipe, you’ll need cooked egg noodles, sometimes also labeled lo mein noodles:
Red Curry Noodles: Recipe Instructions
Combine the raw chicken with 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and 1 teaspoon vegetable oil. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
When you’re ready to cook, heat a wok over medium high heat, and add a tablespoon of vegetable oil, along with the chicken. Stir-fry the chicken until opaque, remove from the pan, and set aside.
Add the Thai red curry paste.
Fry for one minute, and add the coconut milk. Add the cooked egg noodles and stir-fry, loosening up the noodles as you go.
Add the red bell pepper and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the cooked chicken, bean sprouts and scallions and cook for another 2 minutes, until the scallions are wilted.
Serve with lime wedges, and garnish with chopped peanuts.
Red Curry Noodles with Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 oz. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut into thin strips)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- Vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 1 pound fresh cooked egg noodles
- ½ of a red bell pepper (thinly sliced)
- 2 cups bean sprouts
- 5 scallions (cut into 2-inch lengths)
- Lime wedges
- 2 tablespoons peanuts (chopped)
Instructions
- Combine the raw chicken with 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and 1 teaspoon vegetable oil. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- When you’re ready to cook, heat a wok over medium high heat, and add a tablespoon of vegetable oil, along with the chicken. Stir-fry the chicken until opaque, remove from the pan, and set aside.
- Add the red curry paste. Fry for one minute, and add the coconut milk. Add the noodles and stir-fry, loosening up the noodles as you go.
- Add the red bell pepper and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the cooked chicken, bean sprouts and scallions and cook for another 2 minutes, until the scallions are wilted.
- Serve with lime wedges, and garnish with chopped peanuts.
