Slurp-worthy rice noodles in a creamy, flavourful broth, this easy THAI RED CURRY NOODLE SOUP WITH SHRIMP BALLS is the kind of tasty and nutritious meal to put into your recipe rotation immediately.
In this version, I served it with pan-fried shrimp balls, mushrooms and veggies. The shrimp balls are pan-fried first in the same pot used to cook the curry broth, so the little leftover brown bits at the bottom give the broth an extra bit of yum. I used Shanghai bok choy, Japanese eggplant and a mix of enoki and oyster mushrooms. As you can imagine, it’s quite easy to switch up the veggies i.e. zucchini, cremini mushrooms, butternut squash or sweet potatoes are delicious in curries, too. Oh and tofu or bean curd sheets (aka yuba) are SO perfect in curries. Kicking myself now for not putting some of those in. Well it’s not too late for you! For a hearty vegan version, omit the shrimp balls and definitely add tofu things.
Curry Pastes
Real, authentic Thai curry begins with a labor-intensive step of grinding a paste from fresh ingredients. Nothing can compare to that. But for those of us desiring to enjoy a steaming bowl of curry noodle soup at home, without the time to scratch-make the curry, the best shortcut of all is a quality, store-bought curry paste. Curry pastes come in either small jars or vacuum packs. Here, I used a Thai Red Curry paste. There are other equally delicious varieties like green or yellow Thai curry pastes, any of which can be found easily at Asian grocery stores or in the international aisle of well-stocked supermarkets. Feel free to use whichever Thai paste is your favourite in this recipe.
What Is Kefir Lime Leaf
Kaffir lime or makrut lime, is a citrus fruit native to tropical Southeast Asia. Its fruit and leaves are used in Southeast Asian cuisine. The leaves can be ground up in the paste, or used whole and discarded at the end of cooking. They impart a wonderfully fragrant, citrusy note to curries unlike anything else. Tossing a few fresh or dried kefir lime leaves instantly amps up both flavor and authenticity. Loblaws sells dried kefir lime leaves under its PC Black Label line. Chinese or South East Asian supermarkets sell fresh kefir lime leaves.
Types of Noodles To Use
Lately I’ve been favoring the super thin Chinese vermicelli rice noodles in this type of dish. These are different from the Vietnamese variety used in Pho. My recommended brands for Chinese vermicelli rice noodles are “Chewy” brand or “Swan” brand, because they have the perfect bounciness and do not get soggy after cooking (as long as you don’t cook them too long, obviously). I love how effective these noodles are in carrying the creamy broth in between all those skinny strands, straight into my face. You can find Chewy or Swan brand Chinese vermicelli noodles in the dried noodles aisle of Chinese supermarkets. If you can’t find this specific kind of noodle, feel free to sub any noodles you enjoy including Chinese or Korean dry wheat noodles, Japanese somen or ramen or udon, Thai or Vietnamese rice noodles, etc. It’s hard to go wrong with this one.
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》SHANGHAI STIR-FRIED NOODLES
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》EASY COCONUT CURRY SEAFOOD UDON
Red Thai Curry Noodle Soup with Shrimp Balls
{ gluten free, dairy free }
Recipe serves 4.
INGREDIENTS
For the pan-fried Shrimp Balls:
1 egg, separated white and yolk
1lb (454g) raw in-shell shrimp, defrosted, peeled and deveined (or ~255g peeled shrimp)
1 green onion, rough chopped
1 piece 1/3" (~5g) nub of ginger, grated on microplane or fine minced
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp arrowroot starch
Avocado oil or oil of choice for pan-frying
For the Veggies (feel free to use any veggies you enjoy!):
2 Asian (thin, long) eggplants, halved lengthwise
3/4lb (340g) Shanghai baby bok choy (green stem) or regular baby bok choy (white stem)
1lb (454g) Mix of enoki and oyster mushrooms
For the Red Thai Curry Noodles:
350-400g dried rice sticks, soaked in cool tap water 15-20 minutes and drained
2 small shallots, minced
1/2" knob ginger, grated on microplane or very fine minced OR just cut into several slices and pull out before serving
2 garlic cloves, minced
4-5 PC Black Label Kefir Lime Leaves
2 tbsp red Thai curry paste
1 tbsp tomato paste
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth, homemade or good quality store-bought low sodium broth
1 14oz-can full fat coconut milk
For serving: Fresh cilantro, lime wedges
METHOD
Prepare the shrimp balls:
Whisk the egg white until foamy. Set aside.
Place the egg yolk, peeled shrimp, chopped green onion, grated ginger, arrowroot starch and salt into a food processor and pulse until the shrimp is almost a puree but you can still see the odd small chunk (for texture). (If you don't have a food processor, first finely chop the shrimp and green onion with a knife and then mix everything else in by hand.) Add half the whisked white first and mix well. Check consistency if you are easily able to roll the mixture into a ball. Add a little bit more egg white at a time only if needed to get to a chunky paste that is easily rolled but not too wet that it will fall apart later when pan-frying. Shape into balls, approximately 1.5 tablespoons of paste per ball, into 12 equal sized balls.
Heat a large Dutch oven (or other heavy-bottomed pot) over medium heat. Once heated, add 3 tablespoons or so of oil. In batches, start pan-frying the shrimp balls about 2-3 minutes on each side. The outside should be slightly golden while the inside is opaque all the way through (check one if unsure). Add oil as needed so the shrimp balls do not stick. Set them aside.
Prep Veggies (just feel free to use any veggies you enjoy!):
Preheat oven to 450f. Place eggplant halves cut-side down onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Once cool to touch, cut into 3/4" chunks cross-wise. Set aside.
For the bok choy, trim the end very slightly only if it is thick. Otherwise I like to keep the base intact. Pull off any wilty leaves and discard those. Wash the leaves well and especially where the leaves join up at the base. If the bundles are on the larger side, cut them lengthwise into halves or even quarters. Drain and set aside.
Give the enoki and oyster mushrooms a quick rinse under tap water. Trim the woodier ends off. Drain and set aside.
Prepare the red Thai curry noodle soup:
Reduce the heat slightly below medium heat under the same Dutch oven you just used to pan-fry the shrimp balls. Add a drizzle of oil and saute the shallots, ginger and garlic (along with a tiny pinch of salt) until fragrant and shallots are softened and beginning to caramalize - a couple of minutes. Make sure to scrape and loosen any bits from pan-frying the shrimp - lots of flavor in those bits! Add the PC Black Label Kefir Lime Leaves and saute 2 minutes more. Next, add in curry paste and tomato paste. Allow the pastes to brown a little bit to fully develop their flavors. Pour the broth in and scrape any bits again. Bring to a simmer. Taste the soup! Depending on the amount of salt already in your broth, add any additional salt to your taste. You'll want the broth to taste slightly "too salty" because you will be adding vegetables and a whole lot of plain rice noodles which you are also flavoring for. I use homemade broth which is completely salt-free, so for me, I add about 2 tsp kosher salt at this point.
Add the bok choy into the soup and simmer until stems are nearly all the way tender. Add the mushrooms now too, and the drained rice noodles and simmer according to noodle package directions, or until tender but still has some chewiness not mushy. Mine takes only a few minutes of boiling.
Finally, without boiling it, stir in the coconut milk. Taste the broth a final time to make sure it is to your liking. Add the shrimp balls and eggplant pieces on top, making sure everything is submerged while you bring it all gently up to scalding temperature. Make sure not to boil vigorously. High heat boiling will cause the coconut milk to curdle. Once everything is just heated through, divide amongst the four bowls and serve with fresh cilantro and a lime wedge. If you come across a kefir lime leave in the pot or at the bottom of your noodle bowl, just discard it. They have done their job and are not meant to be eaten.
Enjoy!
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