I've just conquered my fear of curry: Green Curry Noodle Bowl with Tofu

M

marilynfl

Moderator
At some point during my childhood my mother added a jar of curry to the four spice jars in our house (salt, pepper, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice). I have no idea why nor what she used it in, but I can tell you I avoided the word CURRY for decades. Decades. Then I realized there was a difference between Indian curry and Thai curry when I had Tom Yum Soup and that transitioned me into red curry paste. But the green? No way. I lived in ABQ for 6 years and only needed one meal in which they asked: "Red or Green?" in reference to the chile sauce they top off your whatever and I, being me, thought RED = HOT; GREEN = MILD to learn a lesson

Turns out I was oh so wrong in that assumption.

Then we moved to Florida and ordered Thai for the first time in our new town and having lived in ABQ for 6 years and learning that I did, in fact, like hot, failed to realize that 5 on the Thai 0-5 Scale of Inflicting Pain did not fall under the normal definition of HOT.

Oh, hell no.

So I have avoided the green curry jar when I'd pick up the red curry jar to use in soup or green beans. But then I tasted a green curry dish at a Thai restaurant that a friend had ordered and loved it.

Aversion over. Conversion complete.

https://recipeswap.org/fun/wp-content/uploads/swap-photos/curry.jpg

 
Green Curry Noodle Bowl with Tofu from Real Simple magazine

Serves 4 (I made approximately half the recipe and ate it all)

1 6 oz pkg uncooked rice-stick noodles
1 TBL canola oil
1 medium-size jalapeno, unseeded, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
6 scallions, sliced
3 TBL green curry paste
1/4 C water
2 13.5 oz cans light coconut milk, well shaken and stirred.
1.5 tsp kosher salt
10 oz broccoli (about 2 cups)
14 oz pkg extra firm tofu, drained, blotted and cut in 3/4" cubes

Fresh cilantro, mint and basil for top
Fresh lime to serve

Cook noodles according to package.
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat.
Add jalapeno, garlic, ginger and 1/2 cup of green onions. Cook one minute. Add curry paste. Cook 1 minute
Add coconut milk and water and bring to boil. Lower to simmer and add broccoli and simmer until tender and bright green (about 4 minutes). Remove from heat, add tofu and stir until tofu is warm, about 1 minutes.

Divide noodles between 4 bowls and ladle curry over the top. Add herbs and remaining scallions. Serve with lime wedge.

Marilyn's Notes for half the recipe:
I used one 5.3 oz package of KAME Vietnamese PHo Express Rice Noodles. These are already cooked and soft and only need to be reheated or stir-fried. I used about half of those and rinsed under hot water to remove the packaging smell.
I can of regular organic coconut milk from Whole Foods
1 clove garlic
1 inch of jalapeno, seeded
Exactly 1.5 TBL of green curry paste, but ended up adding another 1/4 tsp of green and 1/4 tsp of red paste.

Very quick to prepare and slightly better than the green curry at that Thai restaurant.

Vegan, but not low fat.

PS: I am inordinately pleased that my version looks so much like the magazines.

https://recipeswap.org/fun/wp-content/uploads/swap-photos/curry-recipe.jpg

 
Then give this recipe a try. It is dead easy and so delicious. Love Thai curry

You can use whatever seafood you want including chunks of fish. Tilapia is good in it. I "sneak" up on the amount of curry paste to use.

Thai Green Curry with Seafood
The New Seafood Chowder: When the topic of chowder comes up, debates rage about the merits of the creamy New England style versus the red, tomato-packed Manhattan version. We'd be hard-pressed to choose a favorite, but know one thing for sure: We love chowder. It's comforting, hearty, and full of seafood. The same thing can be said about Thai-style seafood curry. Coconut milk stands in for cream and curry paste packs a warming punch. It's global chowder–and it's delicious. That's something we can all agree on.
4 servings

Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unrefined peanut oil
- 5 green onions, finely chopped, dark green parts separated from white and pale green parts
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro, divided
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 13- to 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
- 2 small fresh red Thai chiles or 1 red jalapeño chile
- 2 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
- 1 large carrot, peeled, thinly sliced on diagonal (about 1 cup)
- 4 cups thinly sliced bok choy
- 8 ounces uncooked medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
- 8 ounces bay scallops
- 1 pound green or black mussels, scrubbed, debearded
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
- 2 cups (about) steamed rice
- ingredient tips
Unrefined peanut oil can be found at natural foods stores and markets. Thai green curry paste, coconut milk, and fish sauce are sold at many supermarkets and at Asian markets. Look for fresh or frozen kaffir lime leaves at markets. If unavailable, use 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice and 1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel for each lime leaf.
Preparation
- Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add white and pale green parts of green onions, 1 tablespoon cilantro, and garlic; sauté until tender, about 2 minutes. Add curry paste; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add 1 1/4 cups water, coconut milk, chiles, lime leaves, and fish sauce. Bring to simmer. Add carrot; cover and cook until carrot is just tender, about 5 minutes. Layer bok choy, shrimp, scallops, then mussels in pan. Cover and simmer until mussels open and seafood and bok choy are cooked (discard mussels that do not open), about 5 minutes. Stir in dark green parts of green onions, 2 tablespoons cilantro, and basil.

 
Green curry is one of our favorite foods! Love it with beef, eggplant, green pepper and peas

Where we go weekly, we ask for 2x extra eggplant. Their curry is bright green, greener than any we've seen before. And so very tasty! Also love their red peanut curry with chicken smileys/wink.gif I have jars of both red and green curry pastes in the fridge. Colleen

 
This sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing!

Will make a smaller portion for Dh and I (with tilapia instead of mussels) very soon! Colleen

 
I've used haricot verts in place of bok choy. It's versatile. Salmon would even be good.

The flavors stand up.

 
Make your own Thai Green Curry Paste

It is easy especially if you have a food processor. The difference between fresh and store-bought bottled paste is amazing. If you want red curry paste just use red chilies. I'll put my favorite Thai Green Curry Chicken recipe below. Try it- it is wonderful!

THAI GREEN CURRY PASTE
(makes about 2 cups)
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp ground fresh nutmeg
12 large green chilies (I used Serranos and took most of the seeds out)
1 cup chopped onion or shallots
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 stems lemongrass (white part only, finely chopped)
10 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander roots (I used stems)
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
6 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
2 tsp finely grated lime zest
2 tsp salt

Dry-fry the coriander and cumin seeds for 2-3 minutes. Then grind along with the black peppercorns in a mortar and pestle. Place all ingredients in a food processor and finely chop. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

THE THAI GREEN CURRY CHICKEN
1 tbsp oil
1 chopped onion
2 tbsp Thai green curry paste (I use more)
1-1/2 cups coconut milk
½ cup water
1 lb chicken thigh fillets, cut into bite-size pieces
4 oz green beans, cut in half
6 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
1 tbsp each fish sauce and lime juice
1 tsp finely grated lime zest
2 tsp brown sugar
¼ cup coriander leaves chopped

Heat oil in heavy-based pan. Add onion and curry paste. Cook for about 1 min, stirring constantly. Add coconut milk and water and bring to a boil. Add the chicken, beans and kaffir lime leaves. Stir to combine. Simmer for 15-20 min or until the chicken is tender. Stir in the fish sauce, lime juice, zest and brown sugar. Sprinkle with coriander leaves and serve with steamed rice.

 
Yes huge- could you find dried or freeze-dried? At least it would give some flavor

 
You can find both at Asian stores. The lime leaves are often just packaged fresh, or I could send

you some if there weren't a border between us.

I used to grow lemongrass, from lemongrass. I love both these flavours and use them often.

 
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