Thai food was one of the biggest losses for me. My husband and I had our first date at a Thai restaurant, and I used to get delivery there so often that the staff knew it was me just from my voice on the telephone. It was not uncommon for us to have Thai once or twice a week, especially when I was still in private practice. But Thai’s kind of hard without coconut.
This recipe’s kind of concept more than a recipe, because there are so many variables and and you can make so many curries, i.e. green, red, yellow, Massaman, etc. I used a commercial curry paste because it looked relatively safe for me, although we’ll see in the next few days whether I got corned or not (corned is like being gluten-ed but obviously with corn). However, there are tons of curry paste recipes on the internet that people can modify for their own diets, if the suggestions are not safe for you. Or you can use use a curry powder spice mix you like. I’ve also used the DIY Singapore Seasoning from our DIY Spice Mix Day post. Also, if you make curry paste, freeze it in an ice cube tray so you can grab a chunk when you want. You can use any meat you want, or not. You can also use whatever vegetables strike your fancy.
Quick Thai-Inspired Curry Noodle Stir Fry
Makes about 3-4 servings, depending on serving size.
- 1/2 of a 1 pound package of rice noodles (I used the kind that I would use for pho, but you can pick the width of rice noodle you like)
- 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, grape seed oil, or an oil that’s safe for you
- 1 cup of cashew milk or other non-dairy milk (If you can have coconut milk, by all means use it. I can’t use commercial cashew milk so I make my own, soaking 1 cup of cashews in hot water for a couple of hours, draining the water, and putting them in the blender with two cups of new water. It’ll make more than you need, but it freezes well.)
- 1/2 cup of water
- 1 package of Kanokwan Green Curry Paste (they have other flavors too, make sure you read labels); or 1 or 2 Tablespoons of Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste (they have other flavors as well, read labels); or 1 or 2 Tablespoons of Mae Ploy Thai Green Curry Paste (ditto, other flavors, read labels) or 1 or 2 Tablespoons of a curry spice mix you like, similar to those available from Penzey’s.
- 1/2 pound of beef, pork or chicken cut into stir fry sized strips (Chicken’s out for me, but if you can eat it go for it.)
- 3 scallions, sliced into quarter inch pieces
- 1/2 cup of snow peas
- 10-12 asparagus stalks, trimmed and cut into 1″ pieces
- 2 carrots, julienned
- 1 small onion or half a medium onion, cut in half and sliced thinly crosswise to form slices in a curved shape
- 1 medium bok choy (about 6-8 inches long), sliced crosswise to form small bite size pieces
- 2 Thai chilies, de-stemmed and sliced (optional, leave out if really spicy is not your thing)
- 5-6 Thai basil leaves
First up, prepare all your vegetables. Keep the bok choy or any other greens separated from the rest of the vegetables because they will cook quicker and need to be added at end. To do the carrots, I cheat and use a peeler that juliennes.
Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil. Add your rice noodles, boil for 6-8 minutes and then drain. If you’re using smaller rice noodles, you might not need as much cooking time, so check your package’s instructions. Place the noodles aside until the curry is finished.
In a large skillet, add the oil, the cashew milk, water, and curry paste or spice mix. Stir to combine over medium heat.
Add your meat if you’re using it, and cook until the meat is cooked through. Then add your vegetables with the exception of the bok choy (or other green of choice).
Cover your skillet with its lid and let it simmer for a few minutes to let the asparagus and carrots cook. Then add your bok choy and simmer until the bok choy is ready. When the bok choy is ready, mix in your Thai basil leaves.
Place a bed of rice noodles on a plate and spoon your curry over it. If you have extra Thai basil leaves and want to be fancy, garnish your dish with them.
Hope you enjoy it!
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