Sokol Blosser Wine Blog

I found this Spicy Curry Noodle Soup with Chicken and Sweet Potato in the January issue of Bon Appetit and thought that it really looked and sounded good, especially on a cold night. Well, we got the cold night so I decided to be adventurous and try out this recipe. Some Asian recipes can be intimidating because of all the ingredients and the time that goes into a dish but I was up for a challenge.

As it turned out, the recipe was not that hard but very tasty and one that is a keeper. One thing about this recipe is that you can use some leftover chicken if you have it or buy a roasted chicken instead of cooking chicken. We paired up the soup with a bottle of Evolution and it was not just a hit but a home run out of the ball park!

So next time instead of making your grandmother’s chicken noodle soup step up to the plate and take a swing at this recipe it is well worth it. And not forget the bottle of Evolution to go with it!

Cheers!
Lee Medina

Spicy Curry Noodle Soup with Chicken and Sweet Potato from Bon Appetit
6 Servings

- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp chopped shallots
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 tbsp minced lemongrass
- 2 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
- 2 tbsp Thai yellow curry paste
- 2 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp hot chili paste (such as sambal oelek)
- 2 13.5-14 oz. cans unsweetened coconut milk, divided
- 5 cups low-salt chicken broth
- 2 1/2 tbsp fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
- 2 tsp sugar
- 3 cups snow peas, trimmed
- 2 cups 1/2 inch cubes peeled red-skinned sweet potato

- 1 lb dried rice vermicelli noodles or rice stick noodles
- 3/4 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 3 red Thai bird chilies or 2 red jalapeno chiles, thinly sliced with seeds
- 1 lime, cut into 6 wedges

Heat oil in heave 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 and chili paste. Add 1.2 cup coconut milk (scooped from thick liquid at the top of the can). Stir until thick and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add remaining coconut milk, broth, fish sauce and sugar; bring broth to boil. Keep warm. (Broth can be made 1 day ahead.)

Cook snow peas in large pot of boiling salted water until bright green, about 20 seconds. Using strainer, remove peas from pot; rinse under cold water to cool. Place peas in medium bow. Bring water in same pot back to boil. Add sweet potato and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Using strainer, remove sweet potato from pot and rinse under cold water to cool. Place in small bowl. Bring water in same pot back to boil and cook noddles until al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold water to cool. Transfer to microwave-safe bowl.

Bring broth to simmer. Add chicken; simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add sweet potato; stir to heat through, about 1 minute. Heat noodles in microwave in 30 second intervals to rewarm. Cut noodles among bowls. Scatter red onion, green onions, cilantro and chiles over soup. Garnish with lime wedges and serve.