Coconut Curry Chicken Noodle Soup (Curry Mee)
This recipe is taken from the New York Times, January 7, 2009. It has a ton of wonderful Asian ingredients, which makes it very authentic. It is rich with the coconut milk and if you must, a light cream added. If you can'tf ind some of the ingredients, here are some substitutions: LEMON GRASS - use lemon zest. KAFFIR LIME LEAVES - use lime zest and add lime juice once soup is made . SAMBAL chile paste - use any hot chili product like Sriracha Rooster sauce. Fish Sauce - This product adds salt. Use Soy Sauce, but less of it to taste. Asian noodles - I used UDON NOODLES, which is a thick wheat noodle. Use thick spaghetti noodles. GINGER ROOT- do not substitute. Keep looking. Could use galangal root, but that is even harder to find. It is VERY IMPORTANT to have your ingredients prepped before beginning to make this soup.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbs. vegetable oil
- 1 small onion minced
- 1 Tbs ginger root minced
- 1 Tbs lemon grass minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp Sambal dark red chili paste
- 3/4 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3 Tbs curry powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 can 11 oz coconut milk
- 1/2 cup half-and-half or light cream optional
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 2 Tbs fish sauce
- 1 Tbs sugar
- 12 kaffir lime leaves
- 12 ounces Asian udon noodles
- Salt (optional), to taste
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 3 Tbs chopped cilantro
- 2 scallions sliced thin crosswise
- 1 quartered lime
Instructions
- Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onion, ginger, and lemon grass and cook, stirring until softened, about 10 minutes. Do not brown; reduce heat if necessary. Add garlic and chili paste and stir until fragrant. Raise heat, add chicken and stir-fry one minute. Add curry powder and paprika and stir to coat. Then add coconut milk, half-and-half, chicken stock, turmeric, fish sauce, sugar and kaffir lime leaves. Bring to a boil, add noodles, then reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through and noodles are soft, about 7 minutes.
- Taste broth and adjust seasonings with salt and sugar. Top with bean sprouts, cilantro, scallions. Pass limes and chili paste at the table.