Impress your flatties with this easy and flavourful noodle soup to ease you into the colder weather. Swap out the chicken for red meat if you prefer and use any vegetables you like. Or make it fully vegetarian/vegan by swapping meat for tofu and using soy sauce instead of fish sauce!
Serves 8
Ingredients:
Half a pumpkin, cut into 3cm cubes
2 chicken breasts, cut into 3cm cubes
Oil for frying
2 onions, diced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
A thumb of ginger, grated
2 stalks of chopped lemongrass
200 grams of red curry paste
2 cans of bamboo shoots, drained
4 cans of coconut milk
3 tablespoons of fish sauce
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
4 limes, 2 cut in half, 2 cut into quarters
3 tablespoons of sesame oil
1 heaped tablespoon of peanut butter
500 grams frozen baby beans
A bunch of bok choy, each stalk cut in half lengthways
1200 grams udon noodles
A bunch of coriander, roughly chopped (optional)
1 red chilli, finely chopped (optional)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C, bake option.
On a lined baking tray, add the pumpkin cubes, 2 tablespoons of oil and cracked pepper to taste. When the oven is hot, place the pumpkin into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
In a large pan/wok over a medium heat add 2 tablespoons of oil. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and brown on each side. When just browned, remove from the pan and set aside.
To the same pan, add 1 tablespoon of oil and the onions and fry for 5 minutes until caramelised, occasionally stirring so they don’t burn. Add the garlic, ginger and bamboo shoots and fry for another 2 minutes. Add the curry paste and stir into the onions, garlic, ginger and bamboo. Fry for another 2-3 minutes, or until fragrant.
When the curry paste is fragrant, add the coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, peanut butter, the juice of 2 limes and 1 cup of water. Stir and bring to a boil then turn the heat down to a simmer.
Place a large pot of salted water on the stove on a high heat.
After the curry has been simmering for 15 minutes, add the beans and cook for a further 5 minutes, then add the chicken and pumpkin and cook for another 5 minutes. Turn the heat off. Add the bok choy and submerge it in the curry.
When the water is boiling, add the noodles and cook for 3 minutes or according to packet instructions. Drain and coat with 1 tablespoon of sesame oil to avoid them sticking together.
Assemble the curry by placing a serving of noodles into a bowl then spoon the curry over top. Into each bowl, squeeze over the juice of a quarter lime and garnish with coriander and chilli. Serve!