Red Curry and Noodles

The kitchen was on fire last night! Not literally- but the curry sure did come out hot and spicy. It was a flavorful and savory delight that I am excited to share. 

Ingredients

Asian noodles 
sliced peppers: green, red, yellow
sliced onion
2 large tomatoes, sliced

Spices: curry powder, garlic, turmeric, sea salt, cumin

Thai Kitchen: Roasted Red Chili Paste (omit if you do not like it spicy, or use sparingly)

Process

This is what I call a two-dish meal, which means you will need to cook two separate dishes at the same time: noodles and vegetable curry. The first step is to get the water boiling for the noodles and heat up a frying pan with a small amount of oil for the vegetables. Slice the vegetables while waiting. 

Once the frying pan is hot, put in multi-colored pepper and onion slices. Saute the veggies but be cautious to not over-flip or stir so the fruit becomes mushy. After about 4-5 minutes, turn heat down and begin to spice. So this is where every kitchen is different, so flavor this to your own tastes. If you like it spicy, add 2 small spoonfuls of red chili paste. Then ample garlic, turmeric, and curry powder. Just a little sea salt and some cumin (let the smell guide you) and you are ready to add in your tomatoes. This should only cook for a minute or two longer once the tomatoes are in the pan- and keep on low heat. Again, in a buddhist kitchen you use what you have, and so I added some left-over barbecued Gardein Chick'n to the pan right after I put in the tomatoes. I was unsure of how the two distinct flavors would mesh, but the barbecue sauce blended quite nicely with the red curry. 

Don't forget to add the noodles to the boiling water- and add some sea salt and curry right to the water. Follow the directions on the package- asian noodles usually only cook for 4-5 minutes. Once cooked, drain and serve noodles on plates.

Serve the vegetable curry on top of a bed of noodles. Drizzle with soy sauce and top with cilantro leaves. This recipe makes plenty for a large table or left-overs for lunches the next day. As it is spicy, I whipped up some simple chocolate pudding for dessert. I love to make curry and would love to hear any variations you try in your own kitchen.

Enjoy the zen moment in your kitchen!

Crockpot Vegetable Curry

Ingredients:

3 potatoes, chopped

1 cauliflower, chopped

1 1/2 cups green peas

3 tomatoes, chopped

3/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp curry

cilantro

sea salt

1 cup water

Process:

Place all ingredients in a crock pot or slow cooker. Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours.

* I wrote it some measurements to use as a guide, but as always cooking with spices, do not get bogged down with measurement but rather add by smell. Keep in mind when slow cooking the spices will be absorbed by the food- so be generous! Heavy on the cumin, and remember that you can add any vegetables you have in your kitchen. Today I added broccoli and 2 sweet potatoes, along with an onion and garlic. 

In a buddhist kitchen, you use what you have, and cook from within. This is a great dish to serve with rice (in my kitchen we use Jasmine).