Vietnamese Chicken Curry Noodle Soup

I've had curry noodle soup before, but sometimes I find it a tad too heavy. I adjusted a Vietnamese Ca Ri (translation: curry) recipe I found to make the curry soup more brothy and less creamy. It turned out fantastic, with the consistency of the broth more like a traditional ramen broth (heavier than pho, but still perfect for rice noodles) as opposed to a curry dish I would dip french bread in (which tends to be really creamy.) Also, instead of a regular yam, I found some Japanese yams (which are white instead of orange) which are a tad less sweet. (What a great find at the Orient Mart here in Athens on the East Side.)

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons madras curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 2 pounds skinless bone-in chicken thighs (usually 4 thighs)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped shallot
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons ground chili paste or dried chili flakes, or to taste
• 4 tablespoons fish sauce (more to taste)
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 2 lemongrass stalks, cut into 3-inch pieces and bruised with the flat side of a knife
• 1 (2-inch) piece ginger, peeled, cut into 3 slices and bruised with the flat side of a knife
• 3-4 cups fresh chicken stock or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 carrots, peeled, cut on the diagonal into 2/3-inch pieces
• 1 12 oz. unsweetened coconut MILK
• 1 12 oz. can coconut WATER
• 1 yellow onion, cut into wedges
• 1 medium sweet potato (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 cup chopped snow peas
• 1 can baby corn, drained
• 1 package chopped mushrooms
• 15-20 Thai basil leaves
• Chopped cilantro for garnish
• cooked rice (pho) noodles 

Preparation

1. Combine 2 tablespoons of the curry powder and the salt in a bowl. Add the chicken and turn to coat the meat evenly. Set aside for 30 minutes.

2. Heat the oil in a medium pot over moderate heat. Add the shallot, garlic, chili paste and the remaining curry powder, and stir until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add the chicken and cook until the edges of the pieces are golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the fish sauce, sugar, lemongrass, ginger and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer.

3) Add remaining ingredients and cook until the vegetables are tender, about an hour. Taste throughout the hour and add fish sauce/sugar/more basil to taste. 

4) Add some cooked rice noodles to a large bowl, then top with a chicken thigh and broth including veggies. Garnish with cilantro.  

5) Enjoy!