Thai Peanut Noodle Soup

We have another entry into for our Winter Warmers with this delicious Thai Peanut Noodle Soup. If anyone has a peanut allergy just give the peanut butter a miss and you’ll still be left with a tasty bowl of soup. For everyone else there is the age old question of smooth vs crunchy peanut butter – crunchy clearly reigns supreme…just saying. If you’ve got yourself a slow cooker you can knock this Thai Peanut Noodle Soup up in under 10 minutes! Unfortunately, there is one catch though, you won’t be  able to shovel spoonfuls of it into your mouth for another 6-8 hours.

What you’ll need:

2 tablespoons peanut oil (olive oil will still work)
4-500g chicken thighs or breast or a mix sliced (whichever you prefer)
1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated (you may add more to your liking)
1 clove garlic minced or grated
1 medium to large sweet potato chopped (skin removed if desired)
2 red peppers thinly sliced
250g cremini mushrooms sliced (any mushroom will work)
1/4 cup thai red curry paste
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
400ml can coconut milk/cream
1L chicken broth/stock
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 cup of peanut butter (The big debate: crunchy or smooth? Your choice)
1 lime juiced (optional)

Noodle choices:

Healthier option – zucchini (use a spiralizer) or any other veggie based noodle
Your favourite noodle – ramen, thick/thin, whatever floats your boat

Putting It All Together…

Option 1: In The Slow Cooker

No slow cooker? No problem. Just scroll down for how to cook it on the stove – also useful if you decided to hit snooze one too many times in the morning and missed getting the slow cooker on! But with the less than 10 minutes of food prep followed by turning the slow cooker to low and forgetting about it. This might just be a good enough excuse to pick one up!

1. Add the peanut oil, chicken, ginger, garlic, sweet potato, red peppers, curry paste, smoked paprika, coconut milk, chicken, broth, soy sauce, fish sauce, and peanut butter to the slow cooker. Cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low or 4 hours on high, stirring if you can once or twice.
                     
2. During the last 30 minutes add the mushrooms. Just note that noodles will absorb plenty of the liquid. So if you are going to have leftovers you may want to cook the noodles separately and add them to your bowl. If that’s not an issue, then during the last 5 minutes add the noodles (if using regular noodles you will need to cook them for a longer period of time, probably about 10 minutes – with zoodles, just add them raw to the bowl and the soup will cook them for you). Once the noodles are cooked serve immediately and if you’re feeling fancy,  garnish with freshly chopped coriander and peanuts.

Option 2: On the Stove

1. Heat a large pot over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil and the chicken. Brown the chicken, stirring once or twice for about 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Carefully remove the chicken from the pot.
2. Add another tablespoon of peanut oil, the ginger, garlic, sweet potato and peppers. Cover and cook 8-10 minutes or until the sweet potato is tender. Add the mushroom and cook 5 more minutes. Add in the curry paste and smoked paprika, stirring until the curry paste has coated the veggies.
3. In the meantime, make 1 cup of chicken broth and carefully stir in the peanut butter until completely smooth.
4. Add the chicken back into the pot along with the coconut milk, remaining chicken broth, soy sauce, fish sauce, peanut butter mixture, lime juice. Stir until the peanut butter has been fully incorporated into the soup. Bring the soup to a boil and then add the ramen noodles and cook for 3-4 minutes (if using regular noodles you will need to cook the noodle for a longer period of time, probably about 8 minutes – with zoodles, just add them raw to the bowl and the soup will cook them for you).
5. Once the noodles are ready serve soup immediately