Spicy Coconut Curry Noodle Bowl
Rice noodles tossed in a thick, spicy coconut curry sauce with crisp-tender broccoli and bell pepper. A squeeze of lime and fresh cilantro keep the richness in check.
- Total
- 18 min
- Prep 6 · Cook 12
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Blooming spices · Simmering
- Savory
- Quick
- Asian
- Creamy
- Spicy
- Stovetop
Instructions
-
Bring 1 l water to a rolling boil in a small pot over high heat.
~4 min
-
While step 1 cooks
While the water heats, cut 100 g broccoli into 2 cm florets and 0.5 bell pepper into 1 cm strips. Pick 1 tbsp cilantro leaves and cut 0.5 lime into wedges.
~3 min
Keep the broccoli florets small and uniform so they finish in the same 2 to 3 minutes as the pepper strips and stay crisp against the soft noodles.
-
Drop 100 g rice noodles into the boiling water and cook until just tender but still springy, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.
~4 min
Cooking rice noodles just to springy al dente keeps them from turning mushy when they are later folded into the hot sauce.
-
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1.5 tbsp red curry paste, 0.5 tsp garlic powder, 0.25 tsp ground cumin, 0.25 tsp ground coriander and 0.25 tsp turmeric. Stir constantly until fragrant and darkened, about 45 seconds.
~1 min
Blooming curry paste and ground spices in hot oil dissolves their fat-soluble flavors and toasts them, deepening the curry's aroma and color.
Blooming spices Stir spices constantly in medium-hot oil until fragrant and darkened, about 45 seconds; if they smell acrid or turn black, the oil is too hot and the spices will taste bitter.
-
Pour 150 ml coconut milk into the skillet and stir to dissolve the paste. Add 0.25 tsp salt and simmer until the sauce thickens enough to coat the spoon, 3 to 4 minutes.
~4 min
Simmering evaporates water and thickens the coconut milk so the sauce clings to the noodles instead of pooling.
If the sauce tightens too much before the noodles go in, loosen it with a tablespoon of the noodle cooking water instead of more coconut milk, so the curry stays intense.
Simmering Keep the sauce at a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil, and stir often; it is ready when it coats the back of a spoon, which prevents scorching and ensures it clings to the noodles.
-
Add the broccoli and bell pepper to the sauce and cook until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Fold in the drained rice noodles until coated. Squeeze over the lime and scatter the cilantro.
~3 min
Adding vegetables to the hot sauce cooks them quickly so they stay crisp-tender, while folding in noodles off the heat prevents overcooking.