*Pic 1 - Picture from http://heatherchristo.com/2014/01/27/spicy-thai-curry-noodle-soup/
My Variations from Recipe as Written: I doubled the recipe. I ended up using several more ounces of noodles than the originally recipe called for (because of the weird packaging amounts available at the grocery store). The recipe called for vegetable or chicken broth; I used chicken, so the version I made is not vegetarian- or vegan-friendly (sorry, veg-heads! still love you, though!!).
General Thoughts: This is the second of the two soups I made this past Sunday at a family gathering (the first being Sunday Soup #13, a garlic potato soup recipe you can learn more about here: http://soupersleuth.blogspot.com/2016/08/sunday-soup-13-slow-cooker-roaster.html). My Sister and Mom and I are all huge fans of Asian cuisine, and curries in particular, so we collaborated on this one, hoping it would pay off big... And it did!
The prep for this soup was souper easy (haha, you see what I did there?! - how many times have I made that joke?) and the entire prep/cook time was little more than 30 minutes. It seems like it would be a great soup to make on a weekday night for a bit of yummy Asian flavor, or even for a dinner party with a Asian food theme. Its simplicity was also its only weakness though, as we thought it really needed something "more" to be great (see below).
The soup was rich and creamy and felt like it coated my throat and tummy with red curry goodness! The Thai flavor was strong, but it was not spicy or even very salty. The noodles were almost incidental, as the star was the creamy, savory broth. We all approached our bowls differently: my brother-in-law loaded up on noodles and used the liquid more like a noodle sauce than soup broth; I took what I felt was a good broth-noodle ratio and wound up with a hearty noodle soup; and my Mom took mostly broth and added just enough noodles to avoid having to sip it from a mug. In the end, each of us got exactly what we were looking for and were happy with our bowls.
The soup was actually a little like a Vietnamese pho; not in taste, but in that the soup was just broth and noodles, and each person was able to add garnishes (and even sauces - I added a healthy portion of Sriracha to mine) to their taste that really put the soup over the top.
In the future, most of us agreed that some basic changes would serve to make it even better: we'd definitely give it some protein, such as some chicken breast cut up and sautéed in chili oil; we'd probably add a bit more salt from the outset; we'd throw the garnishes - Thai basil, red chilis, cilantro, green onions - in with the curry paste/garlic/ginger to sauté; and we'd likely go for only about 2/3 to 3/4 of the noodles called for in the original recipe (by the end, the noodles had absorbed almost all the broth).
*Pics 2 & 3 - Pictures from when I made it
Polling the Fam: I really, really liked it and would definitely look forward to having it again, especially with the suggestions discussed above. My brother-in-law is a noodle-lover and was in heaven with the oodles of noodles that had picked up the yummy curry flavor, so he was happy. My Mom thought it was really good but gave a hearty endorsement to the "less noodles" camp. And, my Sister likewise gave it high marks as-is, but still thought it needed "something" she couldn't put her finger on exactly. However, as mentioned, we all agreed that our improvements would be a welcome addition the next time we set out to make it.
Verdict: Liked it. (4 stars)
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