A Taste Department original recipe
Red Thai Curry Noodle Soup with Prawns
Serves 2
Total Time: ~30 mins
Ingredients
Thai red curry paste - 70g (about 4 tablespoons)
Coconut milk can (full-fat) - 1 x 400ml
Rice noodles (vermicelli) – approx. 60g
Raw prawns - 100g
Ginger - thumb-sized piece, chopped into matchsticks or grated
Onion - 0.5 piece, chopped
Red pepper - 1 piece, deseeded and sliced into strips
Sugar snap peas - approx. 50g
Baby bok choy - 4 pieces, chopped into quarters
Fish sauce / oyster sauce - 1-2 tablespoons
Oil (vegetable or olive) - 4 tablespoons
Light soy sauce - 1-2 tablespoons
Salt - 1-2 teaspoons
Lime - 2 pieces + zest from one lime (more if you love limes)
Coriander leaves - 5-10g, chopped
Basil leaves - 5-10g, chopped
Green onion - 1 stalk, chopped
Step by Step
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan or wok and stir-fry the chopped onion for 3-4 minutes on medium-high heat. Sprinkle salt on the onions to get rid of the onions excess water and prevent it from burning.
Add the ginger and red Thai curry paste and cook, constantly stirring, for 2 minutes. You always want to cook the curry paste before adding the coconut milk to fully mobilise the flavours and spices.
Slowly add the coconut milk to the mixture, stirring to ensure the paste blends smoothly. Bring the milk to a boil and then turn down the heat to medium to let it simmer.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1-2 tablespoons of oyster sauce and the juice and zest from one lime into the mixture and let it simmer for a minute.
Add the sugar snap peas, red pepper and bok choy as well as some water to the mixture and continue to let it simmer on medium heat. You can use the coconut milk can to pour in water.
Meanwhile, in a separate frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium-high heat and add the raw prawns to the pan. Season it with salt, a squeeze of lime, some soy sauce and sesame oil (if you have any on hand). Cook the until they turn pink and set them aside.
As you are cooking the prawns, add your rice vermicelli noodles to large heat-proof boil (or pot), boil a pot (or kettle) of water and then pour the boiling water over the noodles. Let sit for 2-3 minutes, depending on the noodle package instructions, and then strain and set aside.
At this point, taste test the curry and adjust seasoning accordingly (add salt, lime, soy sauce or oyster sauce as needed depending on your preference). Also check that your vegetables are cooked through. You ideally want them to maintain a bit of crunch.
Once you are happy with the flavouring and the thickness of the curry, mix in the prawns and noodles and stir everything together.
After a minute or two, divide the noodles and curry into separate serving bowls and garnish with basil, coriander and a small wedge of lime.
Tips
Double the recipe next time so you have leftovers for lunch - the longer the flavours marinate, the better they taste
Alternate the recipe ingredients to mix things up - e.g. choose different veggies, switch between green curry / red curry paste and noodles / rice
If you really just can’t be bothered to chop, you can buy a pre-chopped Asian stir-fry mix
Easy to make vegan / vegetarian by omitting the prawns (you can substitute with tofu if you really want the protein)
Never use light coconut milk — if you want to make the recipe less heavy, you can always add water at the end! You don’t want to reduce the creamy coconut fat when you are cooking as it will dilute the flavour
Recommend purchasing curry paste and coconut milk from an Asian grocer if you have the time as flavours are always more authentic (my favourite brand is Blue Elephant for paste and I usually stock up on Kingfisher coconut cans from Ocado)
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