With our first ever fresh ginger from Windflower Farm, PHCSA Coordinator Colleen Lynch riffed on this Epicurious recipe to maximize CSA ingredients (and simplified the cooking steps per the comments!) Absolutely delicious, easy & could be a one-pot meal if you cooked the noodles directly in the soup!
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 thinly sliced white onion or 2 thinly sliced shallots
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons lemongrass* (from bottom 4 inches of about 3 stalks, tough outer leaves discarded)
2 tablespoons minced or grated peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons Thai yellow or red curry paste*
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon hot chili paste (such as sambal oelek)*
2 13.5- to 14-ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk,* divided
5 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)*
2 teaspoons sugar
1 bunch of koji or other choy, stems chopped to 1/2-inch pieces, leaves roughly chopped, separated
1 large red-skinned sweet potato (yam), cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
1 pound dried rice vermicelli noodles or other Asian noodles* (I used buckwheat soba noodles)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, thinly sliced
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup crushed peanuts
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1-3 red Thai bird chiles or red jalapeño chiles, thinly sliced with seeds
1 lime, cut into 6 wedges
PREPARATION
Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add next 4 ingredients; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in curry paste, curry powder, chili paste, and 1/2 cup coconut milk. Stir until thick and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add remaining coconut milk, broth, fish sauce, and sugar; bring broth to boil.
Bring pot of water to boil for noodles, if cooking separately. Cook noodles according to package instructions until just tender but still firm to bite, about 6 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold water to stop cooking. (Alternatively, you can add noodles to broth 2 minutes after sweet potatoes in next step.)
Meanwhile, add chicken thigh slices to boiling broth and stir. After 2 minutes, add cubed sweet potato. After 6 additional minutes, add choy stems. When chicken and vegetables are
cooked, about 2 additional minutes, add choy leaves to wilt.
Divide noodles among bowls and top with hot soup. Scatter green onions, peanuts, cilantro, and chiles over soup to taste. Garnish with lime wedges and serve with sriracha.
*Available at some supermarkets, at specialty foods stores and Asian markets.
