I’m breaking out the pumpkin in an effort to feel more like the Autumn season. Seasonless-ness is kind of good, but there are things about it I miss. Falling leaves, cool breezes, and the smell of fireplaces being used for the first time since the previous year. I don’t miss the mess our sycamore tree made of the lawn, though! Okay, maybe a little… But I’m continuing with pumpkin recipes since that’s what I associate with this season. Today I’m trying this Spicy Thai Curry Pumpkin Noodle Soup recipe. It’s all about the pumpkin with a few other tasty bits thrown in. Let’s find out if it is as good as it sounds!
Creamy, comforting Spicy Thai Curry Pumpkin Noodle Soup gets ready in 20 minutes and the recipe takes you back to Thailand!
The Ingredients
My usual pre-shopping ingredient check revealed I had several of the ingredients on hand. Namely the vegetable oil, Thai red curry paste, fish sauce, vegetable broth concentrate, brown sugar, and salt. I even had a nice batch of Thai basil growing in my AeroGarden.
Shopping for Spicy Thai Curry Pumpkin Noodle Soup ingredients I didn’t have was pretty easy, but I did have to make some substitutions. First, I could only find fresh shiitake mushrooms, not dried ones. It was an 8-ounce package of sliced shiitake mushrooms, and I used the whole thing. I’m sure the flavor if dried mushrooms would have been stronger, but used what was available.
The other substitute was canned pumpkin puree. Now the notes do tell you how to make it by boiling a fresh pumpkin. I have roasted it, but I have never tried boiling it. I didn’t even know it was an option! But alas, I still haven’t tried that method because there were no fresh pumpkins to be found when I shopped for this recipe (in September). Must have been too early in the season. But thankfully canned pumpkin is always on the shelf. I ended up buying two 15-ounce cans to make sure I had the 2 cups needed for this recipe.
Finally, I wasn’t sure what type of noodles to buy. The ingredient list literally says “150 grams Noodles.” I was hoping this recipe’s blog post would list a specific type, and I found it in the comments: flat pad Thai rice noodles. I found an 8-ounce package and weighed out what I needed (about 1/2 the package). If you can’t find rice noodles try using a wide noodle like linguine instead.
The Process
Making this recipe was a pleasure. I saved myself some time by skipping the soaking since I used fresh mushrooms. Instead, I prepped the ingredients and went straight to cooking. Tip: Boil the water for the noodles while you prep the other ingredients to save time and place a colander in the sink so it’s ready to use.
My 5.5-quart Dutch oven was perfect for this curry. The instructions were well-written and so easy to follow with no ‘huh?’ moments. I love that!
The noodles were ready before they were needed, but this recipe even included a tip for that. I followed it and didn’t have sticky noodles (a huge plus!). And it’s so easy, just rinse the drained noodles in cold water to stop the cooking process.
As the curry finished up I put a few roasted peanuts into a small plastic bag and pounded it with a meat mallet. It’s neater and quicker than chopping, and you won’t have peanut bits flying around your kitchen.
My beautiful Spicy Thai Curry Pumpkin Noodle Soup was ready in 28 minutes, making it quick and easy. The recipe lists a total time of 40 minutes. I’m not sure if that includes soaking the mushrooms and making your own pumpkin puree, neither of which I did.
