Ridiculously Good Thai Chicken & Veggie Curry Pasta and I Forgot About My Blogoversary!

This dish has been living in my head for a while now. I love curry of all kinds but sometimes get a little bored with eating it over rice and thought it would be fun to eat it over pasta instead. Since I had most of a box of rice noodles I needed to use up, I used them for the base. You could use any curry, red, green, yellow; I chose some massaman curry paste I had in the pantry. Massaman curry is a Southern Thai curry which is Muslim in origin and is influenced by Indian curries. I would call it more savory and "spiced" than spicy, but it has a little kick to it. With some leftover chicken that I cooked in coconut milk and spices, (more about that later) and lots of colorful veggies, it made the perfect dinner and was ridiculously good, so much so that I didn't want to stop eating it. The wonderful flavors of Thailand and curry in a comforting, but not too heavy, pasta noodle dish. Made with lite coconut milk and chock full of lean protein and all those veggies, it ends up being pretty healthy too.

Thai Chicken & Veggie Curry Pasta

by Deb at Kahakai Kitchen

(Makes 4 servings)

1 (14 oz) can lite coconut milk

2 1/2 Tbsp curry paste (I used a massaman curry)

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 cup low-sodium chicken stock

1 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot powder

3/4 cup carrots, sliced thinly

1 Japanese eggplant, sliced thinly

1 red bell pepper, chopped

3 green onions, green part, sliced

1 cup snow pea pods, trimmed and chopped into thirds

3/4 cup chopped mushrooms (I used oyster)

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, cubed or shredded

1/2 cup Thai basil, chopped and separated

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped and separated

juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon fish sauce (nam pla), (optional)

1/4 cup cashews, toasted and chopped

1 package rice noodles (phad thai style) or linguine

In a large skillet or pan, stir coconut milk, curry paste, garlic and ginger over medium-high heat, stirring until paste dissolves. Mix broth and cornstarch or arrow root in a small bowl until cornstarch dissolves then mix into skillet. Stir until slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add carrots and eggplant, simmer about 5 minutes. Add bell pepper and green onions and simmer another 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and mix in snow peas, mushrooms chicken and 1/4 cup each of the basil and cilantro and heat through. Add lime juice and fish sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile cook rice noodles in boiling water according to package directions (about 8 minutes). Drain in cold water.

Place noodles in serving bowl or platter. Top with sauce mixture, remaining 1/4 cup each of Thai basil and cilantro and chopped cashews. Serve with lime wedges.

Notes/Results: This was perfect for me. I like my veggies to be crisp and not mushy so if you want them on the softer side, cook them a bit longer. The flavors were perfect, nicely spiced, a little heat, (you could add some Thai chili paste if you want more) and tangy from the lime. It goes together quickly and easily. Swap out the curry, protein and veggies for whatever you like or have on hand. I used the veggies from my CSA box and what I had in my fridge. I will make this again.

I am sending this along to Presto Pasta Nights, being hosted this week by Katie of One Little Corner of the World. If you have not checked out this fun event, there are some spectacular pasta recipes shared each week at the round-ups on Fridays.

I just realized that my one year "Blogoversary" was yesterday! One year ago I started this blog as a creative outlet for my passions for cooking, experimenting in the kitchen and writing. It has been a blast and I give it and the blogging community credit for keeping me (mostly) sane over a crazy year. I have gotten to know so many wonderful people, taken part in some really fun events and improved my cooking skills tenfold. I wanted to do a little give away to say thank you and to celebrate but since I am just a couple weeks away from hitting my 300th post, I am going to hold off and do it then so stayed tuned.

Have a great week!