Thai Coconut Curry Noodles with Chicken

Here is a fun recipe that uses Thai-style rice stick noodles. I bought a bag of them at Trader Joe's and wanted to find a recipe in which to use them. They're thick, not thin, rice noodles that take about 8 to 10 minutes to cook. I like this recipe because as the noodles cook, they absorb the flavors of the chicken broth, coconut milk, and spices. At first I followed the original recipe and cooked the noodles with broccoli slaw. That was fine, but broccoli slaw can be expensive if you buy it in a bag, and I'm too lazy to make my own. Plus, the broccoli slaw sometimes was still a bit too crunchy when the noodles were done cooking. Then I tried substituting the slaw with carrots, peas, and water chestnuts. This vegetable combination was colorful and tasted great, so I think I'm going to make it this way from now on.

Thai Coconut Curry Noodles with Chicken
serves 2 adults and 2 small children

Ingredients:

• 1 to 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 medium onion
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 Tbsp. red curry paste. I use Thai Kitchen brand because it's labeled gluten-free.
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric (optional)
• 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts that are kosher or organic (about 1 to 2 breasts, depending on their size)
  
• 1 1/2 cups Imagine organic chicken broth OR Trader Joe's organic free-range chicken broth
  
• 1 14-ounce can light coconut milk. Try to get one that contains just coconut milk, water, and guar gum.
• 1 tsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  
• 1 and 1/2 tsp. fish sauce
• about 6.5 ounces (half a package) of traditional Thai-style rice sticks
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 8-ounce can of sliced water chestnuts, drained
  
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice

Instructions:

Place a 4-quart pot over medium heat. Chop the onion. Peel the carrots and cut them into thin coins. Add the canola oil to the pot and heat the oil until shimmery. Then add the onion and carrots and saute until the onion is tender. While the vegetables are sauteing, thoroughly rinse the chicken breasts, cut them in half length-wise, and then cut them into thin strips width-wise. When the onion is softened, add the red curry paste, ginger, coriander, and turmeric to the pot. Stir for about 1 minute. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the chicken to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, for about 3 to 4 minutes, until the outside of the chicken has cooked.

Pour the chicken broth and coconut milk into the pot. Stir in the brown sugar, sea salt, and fish sauce. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Then rinse the rice noodles in cold water. (If I don't do this, Michael sometimes has an allergic reaction to something coating the noodles.) Break the noodles in half, put them in the pot, and set the timer for 10 minutes. Stir constantly for about a minute so that the noodles don't stick to each other or to the bottom of the pot. Lower the heat to medium or medium-low so that the liquid simmers but doesn't boil vigorously. Stir frequently while the noodles cook. After the noodles are done cooking, turn the heat off and stir in the peas, drained water chestnuts, and lime juice.