Thai Curry Tofu Noodles

In the lead up to Christmas things get much more expensive than usual! As the dollars fly out the door I am trying to work on reducing costs at home where ever possible. I keep a very well stocked pantry at all times as I tend to buy staples in bulk. The two most obvious ways that I can think of to reduce the amount you spend on food for the weekly budget are:

• Make use of what you have on hand – eg: from the pantry and from the vegetable garden
• Eat less meat

For many more ideas you can read this post I wrote with 13 tips for creating low cost family meals.

A low cost meal does not need to be bland and boring. Add a burst of flavor via fresh herbs and spices. That brings me straight to Thai food, it has clean fresh flavors and is simple to prepare.

Last week I was pondering our family meals for the week and flicking through some old note books that I use to record recipes that I am working on. I came across my notes from our holiday to Thailand at the end of 2012. The recipe I use for the curry paste is here.

I don’t enjoy eating the same food over and over again. I like to try new things often. Flicking through my notes I realised that I had not made Curry Noodles for some time so here they are. This is an adaption of the recipe that I learned at cooking school.  It is mild enough for the children to eat and enjoy. As well as being low cost, it is vegetarian and very quick to make with minimal preparation required. This Curry Noodle Recipe is a great week night option for a quick meal.

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Curry Noodles

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

Thai Curry Tofu Noodle Recipe. A family friendly, vegetarian meal that is low cost and quick to prepare.

Course: Main

Cuisine: Thai

Servings: 4

Author: Kyrstie Barcak - A Fresh Legacy

Ingredients

• 250 grams vermicelli egg noodles
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil of choice
• 100 grams organic tofu chopped into small cubes
• 1 tablespoon red (or green) curry paste (store purchased or find the link for my green curry paste below)
• 400 ml organic coconut milk
• 1 carrot - sliced or shredded very finely
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 2 teaspoon curry powder (Mild Indian)
• 2 teaspoons palm sugar - grated or finely chopped

To Serve

• 1 tablespoon pickled turnip
• fresh coriander leaves
• fresh basil leaves
• fresh spring onion - finely sliced
• 1 lime

Instructions

1. Set a saucepan of water to boil
2. Once the water starts to boil, add the vermicelli noodles and cook until al dente (time differs depending on brand used)
3. once the noodles are ready, drain and divide between serving bowls
4. Heat the oil in a pan to medium heat and add the tofu to start to brown, once it starts to color add the curry paste and stir
5. Add half of the coconut milk and the carrot and cook for 3 minutes, stir a little
6. Add the remaining coconut milk, sauces, curry powder, and palm sugar
7. Stir to combine and warm through
8. Pour the tofu curry over the noodles and top with the pickled turnip, fresh coriander, basil leaves and spring onion and add a squeeze of lime

Recipe Notes

Pickled turnips are available from Asian grocery stores
If using a store purchased curry paste read the ingredient label and select one that is made of only herbs and no flavors or additives.
I used purple basil leaves as they are currently the most prolific in my garden, they do also look quite stunning don't you think?

Are you also attempting to reduce some household costs at this time of year? What is your favorite low cost family meal?