One Pot Thai Chicken Noodle

One Pot Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

By: Heidi Maxfield

(my own version of my favorite from the old Big City Soup in Salt Lake City!)

• 2 tablespoons avocado oil • 1 onion, chopped • 2 medium carrots, sliced • 2-4 tablespoons red curry paste • 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger • 4 garlic cloves, minced • 5 cups low sodium chicken broth • 1 14 oz. can quality coconut milk • 1 14 oz. can coconut cream • 1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained • 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce • 2 tablespoons fish sauce • 2 tablespoons brown sugar • 5-6 kaffir lime leaves • 1 tablespoon dried basil • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt • 1/2 teaspoon pepper 3 oz. dried cremini mushrooms, broken up • 1 red bell pepper, chopped • 1 cup chopped bite size cauliflower florets • 4 oz. uncooked thin rice sticks, broken into pieces (while dry, I use kitchen shears) • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced through the equator to create thin fillets • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro • 2-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice • 1 1/2 teaspoons sriracha or more to taste Garnish • crushed peanuts • chopped cilantro • lime juice

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large Dutch oven/soup pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken and brown on both sides, approximately 2 minutes, but don’t cook through. Remove to a plate. 


2. Add one tablespoon olive oil to now empty pot and heat over medium high heat. Add onions and carrots and saute 3 minutes. 


3. Add curry paste, ginger, garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. 


4. Add chicken BACK TO POT followed by chicken broth, coconut milk, drained tomatoes, soy sauce, fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves, brown sugar, basil, dried mushrooms and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and gently simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is tender enough to easily shred.


5. Remove chicken and let rest until cool enough to shred or chop. Meanwhile, add bell peppers, cauliflower and rice noodles to pot. Simmer approximately 5 minutes OR just until your noodles are short of al dente. Stir in chicken, cilantro, lime juice and sriracha. 


6. Discard kaffir lime leaves. Taste and add additional sriracha for spicier or lime juice for tangier. If you would like a less “chunky” soup, stir in additional broth or coconut milk. Garnish individual servings with crushed peanuts and/or cilantro and freshly squeezed lime juice to taste.

Asian Pasta Salad

Recipe doubles well and is GREAT for large groups!

Dressing:
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup canola oil
3 T sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper

Combine all the ingredients in the blender. Make the night before.



Salad:
1/2 cup chopped green onions (about 1 bunch)
1 12 oz. bag of bow tie pasta - cook until al dente
1/4 cup slivered almonds - sugar in a skillet pan and cool
4-6 chicken breasts - cook however you want and then cut into chunks or slices
3-4 peppers: red, green, yellow, orange - chopped (the little peppers from Costco are fabulous and can be cut into rings, discard the seeds; use 6-8 of these.)
Fresh spinach
1. Combine the chicken, pasta, green onions, and peppers the night before or early the morning of the party...add 3/4 of the dressing and keep in the fridge in a sealed container.

2. Add the remaining dressing, almonds and fresh torn spinach right before serving and toss all together *this is important because otherwise the spinach will be ruined.

Honey Walnut Shrimp

1 lb. large shrimp (peeled)

Marinate shrimp for 10 minutes in:

1 egg white

1 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup walnuts

Mix:

3 TBS. flour

3 TBS. cornstarch

1/3 c. cold water

Mix:
1/2 c. mayonnaise

1/2 c. honey

dash of black sesame seeds

4 cups vegetable oil for frying

Heat oil in skillet until very hot.  Dip marinated shrimp in flour mixture one by one and deep fry for 1-2 minutes, or until pink.  Set the fried shrimp on a paper towel.  Using existing oil, turn heat to medium high and fry walnuts until the color darkens.  Set aside.  Drain oil.  Stir the mayo and honey together and pour over shrimp and walnuts (I only used about 1/2 the sauce).  Add black sesame seeds to garnish and serve with rice.

Spicy Thai Lettuce Wraps

These were yummy, and with the right amount of spice, they can make your nose tingle!  Of course, if you are too scared for spice, you can always mellow it down.  We served our filling with brown rice on red leaf lettuce from our garden, because it was ready to use, and perfectly round (unlike the red leaf lettuce you'll find in the produce section).  I suggest Bibb or Boston lettuce - something crisp and round.

Filling:
3/4 lb. ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. minced ginger
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
1 TBS. sesame oil
1 green onion, white & green parts, chopped
1/2 zucchini, chopped
1 (8oz) can water chestnuts, chopped
1 TBS. brown sugar
1/4 soy sauce (use more or less to taste, since there is no salt in this recipe)
1-2 TBS. fish sauce (I promise it won't make your wraps taste like fish)
1 TBS. hot sauce (or more for HEAT)
1-2 TBS. red curry paste
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped

Add sesame oil to pan.  At med.-high heat, saute onions, garlic, ginger and ground beef, until beef is nearly done.  Add green onions, zucchini and water chestnuts and cook about 2-3 minutes more.  Add sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, hot sauce (that's a lot of sauces!), curry paste and cilantro.  Stir to incorporate.
Serve tablespoon (or more) inside of cold lettuce wrap, with brown rice.

Pad Thai

We LOVE Pad Thai at our house, and this was a great, authentic recipe.  We modified it to our liking, but you can make your own substitutions - like leaving out the chicken and shrimp and adding tofu if you are vegetarian.  You can also add more spice if you like.

4 TBS. vegetable oil

3 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, thinly sliced
8 oz. raw shrimp
4 oz. cubed chicken, cooked
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup shredded or thinly sliced carrots
1 small zucchini, sliced thin
1 pkg. Pad Thai Rice Noodles (cooked, drained and rinsed according to stir-fry directions)
1 c. fresh bean sprouts

Sauce:
4 TBS. lime juice
3 TBS. fish sauce
1 TBS. tamarind paste
4 TBS. sugar
1 tsp. crushed red pepper (or more, if you like)
(Mix well together)

Garnish:
chopped peanuts
chopped cilantro
chopped scallions
slice of lime

Heat large pan over high heat.  Add 2 TBS. oil, garlic, shallots, carrots and shrimp.  Cook until shrimp is opaque; set aside.  Add remaining oil and 2 eggs - then scramble.  Add zucchini, chicken, sauce and noodles.  Toss until combined.  Add shrimp and bean sprouts.  Toss well.  Garnish, and serve immediately.

Honey Curry Chicken, modified

Sister's Cafe has a recipe that I tried out.  I modified it a bit and LOVED it!  What was even better, I made a curry chicken salad sandwich with the leftovers and it was GREAT too!

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
¼ c. butter
½ c. honey
¼ c. prepared mustard
1 ½ tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. red curry paste
1/2 tsp. mustard seed
1 TBS. chopped cilantro
½ tsp. pepper

Place chicken in greased casserole dish. Melt butter in microwaveable bowl. Add other ingredients and warm in microwave. Pour mixture over chicken. Place in oven, bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear. Garnish with sautéed mushrooms and serve with extra juice from the pan over rice.

*RESERVE YOUR LEFTOVER CHICKEN AND MARINADE and stay tuned tomorrow for a yummy way to use your leftovers!*

African Chicken Stew

This recipe was a GREAT way to break in my new Christmas gift of a STAUB dutch oven. I loved this meal, and I LOVE my new dutch oven!

1 TBS Olive Oil

1 lb Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into one inch pieces

1 1/2 c Chopped onions

2 Garlic cloves; minced

28 oz Can diced tomatoes, undrained

1/4 c Creamy peanut butter

1/2 ts Chili powder

1/2 ts Salt

1/4 ts Crushed red pepper flakes or more to taste

3 c Cooked rice

1 c Chopped dry roasted peanuts

Heat oil in Dutch Oven or large saucepan over medium high heat until hot. Add chicken, onions and garlic; cook about five minutes or until chicken is browned and onions are tender. Stir in tomatoes, peanut butter, chili powder, salt and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 35 minutes.

Serve over rice; sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Goes great with cooked vegetables and my favorite naan.

Lamb Curry by Guest Chef Scott

*See the next post for the Raita pictured in the blue bowl.

Ingredients


3 chopped onions

2 fresh chopped tomatoes

2 chopped chili peppers

2 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp chopped ginger

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 Tbsp curry powder

1 Tbsp cumin

2 – 2 ½ lbs lamb leg

½ bunch fresh cilantro

½ cup water

½ cup toasted almonds

1 tsp chili powder (optional)

Dash salt and pepper
Dry Rub

1 Tbsp roasted curry powder (you can roast your own spices)

1 Tbsp roasted cumin (you can roast your own spices)

Juice of 1 lime

The night before, trim the fat off of the Lamb. You won’t be able to remove all of the fat, but you’ll be able to get a lot of it. Cut the Lamb into small cubes. Place in a Ziplock back, and combine with 1 Tbsp roasted curry powder, 1 Tbsp roasted cumin, and the juice of 1 lime.

To roast your own spices - Take your spices and dry roast them in a frying pan. Meaning, put the spice in a dry frying pan. Turn on the heat. Wait for the color of the spice to change (slightly), and the scent to fill the air. Remove from heat and let cool. If you are using cumin seeds, grind them in a mortar or spice grinder

The day off, In a sauté pan (preferably an oven safe pan) heat olive oil until warm. Add diced onion. Sauté onions until completely transparent, cook onions for about ten additional minutes. Add Garlic and Ginger mix thoroughly and let cook for a couple minutes. Add spices; stir well and let sit for a minute. Add lamb meat; stir occasionally until lamb is browned. Once lamb is browned, add tomato paste and water. Stir well; turn heat to medium-low and cover. If you are using an oven safe pan, place the pan in a 200° degree oven. Cook the lamb for 1 ½-2 hours. If cooking on the stove top, you’ll want to stir occasionally. Then add tomatoes, stir well and cook for 3-5 minutes. Garnish with Cilantro and toasted almonds.

Serve with Rice

Hold for Applause

Coconut Rice by Guest Chef Scott

Ingredients:

4 cups cooked rice (2 cups raw rice cooked)

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp sugar

½ can lite coconut milk

1 cup half n half (or Ice Cream)
This is the easiest thing to make. Traditional coconut rice is made by cooking the rice in the coconut milk. I don’t like the texture when you do that; also this is handy because you use left over rice.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Cover and let sit in the refrigerator over night.

Serve warm. I like to include ice cream or fresh fruit like Mango.

Guest Chef Scott's Sri Lankan Dal Curry

Ingredients:

2 lbs. dry dal (I like Toor Dal, Channa Dal, or Moong Dal)

dal is a lentil

1 large onion

1 medium tomato

1 bell pepper

1 carrot

2 cloves garlic

½ inch fresh ginger grated

1-2 cans coconut milk

1 ½ Tbsp Curry Powder

1 Tbsp Cumin

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp ground mustard seed (optional)


It is easier to use two. It works best to soak the Dal overnight, but if you forget no major problem. In one pot add the dal and water; you want to add about twice as much water as dal. Bring pot to a boil, and periodically stir. The dal will cook in a pressure cooker in about 20 (from boiling) and about an hour in a regular pot. The dal will be done when it is soft and no longer crunchy. Drain the dal and set aside.

Finely chop the garlic, onion, tomato, pepper, and carrot. Sauté the onion until transparent. Add the garlic, ginger, tomato, pepper, and carrot; sauté until vegetables are thoroughly cooked. I usually blend the mixture at this point, but that’s only because I don’t like tomatoes. Add to the cooked vegetables the spices. Mix in the cooked dal. Add coconut milk, you want enough coconut milk to make the dal a little soupy. Depending on how it cooked and what type of dal you used you will need 1 to 2 cans of coconut milk – adding too much coconut milk is impossible.

Periodically stir and bring to a low boil. Let simmer till ready to serve.

Chicken Coconut Curry by Guest Chef Scott

1 large yellow onion, diced


2 medium sized boneless chicken breast, chopped

2 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp chopped ginger

1 peeled potato, diced

¼ - ½ cup Lemon Juice

1 can Coconut Cream

Spices

2 Tbsp Curry Powder

1 Tbsp Cumin/ Cumin Seeds

1 Tbsp Turmeric

½ - 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Salt and Pepper
In a sauté pan heat olive oil until warm. Add diced onion. Sauté onions until completely transparent, cook onions for about ten additional minutes. Add Garlic and Ginger mix thoroughly and let cook for a couple minutes. Add spices, stir well and let sit for a minute. Add chicken. Stir occasionally, until chicken is cooked. Add diced potato and just enough water to submerge the potatoes. Turn heat to medium once water comes to a boil, Cover and cook on medium until potatoes are soft.

Add Coconut, stir until gentle boil. Leave uncover and stir occasionally. Once sauce thickens it is ready to serve.

Serve over rice

Note: This is a milder curry sauce. For those of you, who love spice, add twice the spices, and diced chilies.

Sticky Coconut Chicken

This recipe is fantastic - a little spicy (if you're hot chili flakes are fresh), but flavorful and delicious.

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1.5 lbs)
2/3 c. canned coconut milk
1 TBS. fresh minced ginger
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. hot chili flakes
3/4 c. rice vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
3 TBS. soy sauce
1 tsp. hot chili flakes
4-5 green onions, finely chopped

Rinse chicken, pat dry. In large bowl, mix coconut milk, ginger, pepper, 1 tsp. hot chili flakes. Add chicken and mix - cover and chill for at least one hour, or up to a day.

Lift chicken from bowl, reserving marinade. Pull thighs open and lay flat on lightly oiled grill on high heat (we broiled this in the oven and it worked fine). Cover and cook, turning thighs as needed to brown on both sides until meat is no longer pink inside. Baste frequently with remaining marinade (USE ALL MARINADE). Tranfer thighs to warm platter and pour chili glaze (recipe below) evenly over meat. Garnish with chopped green onions.

Chili Glaze:
In large sauce pan, combine rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and hot chili flakes. Bring to boil over high heat and cook until mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup (8-10 min.) Makes 1/2 c. glaze. Make sure to put your pan straight in water after the glaze has been used- once it hardens, it's VERY HARD to get off - it turns to a candy-like substance!

Serve warm over steamed brown rice.

Lettuce Wraps

I made these for my valentine this year *sigh*....they were just as good as I had hoped. Goes great with this Beef & Broccoli, if you want to go all out with the Chinese theme.

Filling:
2 TBS. soy sauce
2 TBS. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. rice vinegar
1 c. fried bean threads (Saifun) - you can find these in the Asian section of the grocery store (prepare these as directed and set aside - you add these when you're assembling the lettuce wrap, they're the white, crunchy topping)
3 TBS. vegetable oil
2 bnls, sknls chicken breasts
1 5 oz. can whole water chestnuts, chopped finely
2/3 c. canned straw mushrooms (also found these in Asian section of grocery store - they are the smaller mushrooms that have black tops), chopped finely
4 green onions, finely chopped from white part to middle of the green stem (where it stops being crisp)

Dipping Sauce:
1/2 c. warm water
1/4 c. white sugar
2 TBS. soy sauce
2 TBS. rice vinegar
2 TBS. catsup
1 TBS. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. sesame oil
To Spice it Up, you can optionally add:
2 tsp. (for mild spice) or more - Chinese hot mustard - about $2 in Asian section of grocery store
2 tsp. (for mild spice) or more - chili garlic sauce - also in Asian section of grocery store

1 head bibb or iceberg lettuce, (top cut off, split in half, washed and chilled)

Mix all ingredients for dipping sauce - adding the right amount of spice for your taste. Set aside in refrigerator before you start anything else.

For the filling, preheat a wok or large saute pan with 2 TBS. of vegetable oil on high heat (water flicked on the oil should pop). Add chicken breasts and cook 4-5 min. on each side, or until pink center is gone. Remove from pan to cool. Chop up the mushrooms and water chestnuts finely. Mix the soy sauce, brown sugar and rice vinegar in a bowl. Cut up the chicken into tiny minced pieces. Add an add't TBS. veg oil, add chicken, garlic, water chestnuts and mushrooms to pan. Add brown sugar, soy and rice vinegar mixture. Serve the chicken mixture into lettuce cups. Add your desired amount of dipping sauce.

We loved these! Let me know what you think!

Asian Marinated Steak by Guest Chef Amy

Steak, sliced in small pieces
½ cup soy sauce
Scallions, chopped
¼ cup water
2 cloves garlic
4 Tbsp sugar
Pepper

Combine soy sauce, scallions, water, garlic, sugar and pepper to form marinade. Reserve a small amount of sauce to top steak. Add steak to marinade in large sealable bag. Keep in refrigerator 5 hours to overnight. Broil on top rack in oven in broiling pan until done (about 5 minutes). Serve with rice and reserved marinade.

Thai Peanut Pork Stir Fry by Guest Chef Miriam

Serve with either Minute white rice or Jasmine rice:
2 t. vegetable oil
12 oz pork tenderloin, trim fat and thinly slice crosswise
2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
3 1/2 c broccoli florets
1 med red bell pepper, halved and cut lenthwise
1 can (14 oz) reduced lite coconut milk
1 packet (3&1/2 oz) peanut sauce mix

Heat vegetable oil in large nonstick skillet, add the pork and garlic and stir fry 2 to 3minutes until cooked through. Place on plate. To skillet, add broccoli, red pepper, coconut milk and peanut-sauce mix. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer 6 minutes until vegetables are crisp & tender. Meanwhile cook rice. Return pork & garlic to skillet and simmer a fewminutes until sauce thickents slightly. Serve over rice.

Spring Rolls w/ Peanut Sauce by Guest Chef Nanette

You wouldn't guess by looking at them, but these are actually quick and easy, even for a slow cook like me! I made them one night for a dinner party, when I found out more people were coming over, and they only took about 10 minutes to make.

Ingredients:
Package rice wrappers
Chopped thai basil
Fresh mint leaves
Chopped fresh cilantro
Grated carrot
Fresh bean sprouts
some people like to add little shrimp, or a meat, like pork or chicken. If you do, cook the meat before hand, and slice into thin strips.

Peanut Sauce/Dip
Crunchy peanut butter
Hoisin sauce
Water

All of these ingredients can be found at your local asian supermarket. I didn't include amounts, because it depends on personal preference.

Directions:
Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the hot water for 1 second to soften.
Lay wrapper flat.In a row across the center, a little of each ingredient, to your taste, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side.
Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning at the end with the lettuce.
Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Dipping Sauce
mix equal parts hoisin sauce and peanut butter.
Add water until desired consistency