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.
Oh my, this recipe was so delicious! The serving says 8, but I literally ate 2/3 or even 3/4 of it while my hubby ate the rest. Either the servings is wrong or it was just way too good! It wasn’t spicy at all to me. Wasn’t too wet or too dry either. Everything was perfect! Only thing was that the chicken probably needed more curry flavoring. Next time I’ll try to cook it with a little bit curry or even marinate in curry if that’s possible. Thank you for another great recipe!
You’re very welcome Stephanie!
Metric measurements would be appreciated
Added, Kirsty! See the metric toggle below the ingredients list in the recipe card.
Very good. But, did find myself missing some garlic and salt
Thanks Terri! You can definitely add those to your preference!
Hi Sarah,
my daughter cannot eat gluten, are their other noodles you can suggest?
Hi Mike, rice noodles or sweet potato starch noodles!
Great dish!! I had some extra shrimp on hand, so I tossed them in when the chicken was almost done- turned out great.
So happy to hear it, Steve!
I am trying to perfect my curry noodle dishes but always find they come out dry, how to make them more wet?
Hi Suzanne, you can add more stock and seasoning/salt accordingly. Happy cooking!
Hey Suzanne, you can add a splash of chicken or vegetable stock to make the sauce a little wetter!
Can I use coconut milk powder instead of coconut milk ….and HOW MUCH POWDER …. THANKS
Hey Belmera, I’m not sure if you can substitute coconut milk powder, as I’ve never tried it before.
Love red curry and these noodles were awesome! My hubby who doesn’t like a lot of spice went back for seconds and thirds! Thanks for the recipe!
Yay! Thanks for trying it out and leaving us feedback, Liane. :)