Chicken Curry with rice noodles and crispy curried chickpeas
Here’s a fun, easy curry dish that isn’t quite a soup, yet isn’t quite a noodle dish on its own. It’s a saucy, flavor-packed rice noodle curry with flavorful chicken, crispy chickpeas for an awesome textural component, some spinach for fresh flavor and color, and a curry broth that’ll have you licking your bowl to the last drop. The dish looks harder than it is. Any home cook can NAIL this curry dish, I promise. Cooking for one or two? Make the whole recipe, the leftovers are almost better the next day!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Level: Easy/Medium
Ingredients - serves 4
1 can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
5 tbsp. olive oil, divided
3 tsp. curry powder, divided
1lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, diced
3 tbsp. all purpose flour
1/2 red onion, sliced into thin strips
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbsp. red curry paste
4 cups chicken stock or broth
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tbsp. sugar
2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
8-ish ounces of rice noodles
Handful of fresh spinach
Cilantro to garnish
Kosher salt
Pre-heat oven to 425.
Prep all ingredients: dice chicken breast, slice 1/2 onion, mince garlic. Put chicken in a mixing bowl on its own, and set the onion and garlic aside together.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas from the can. Pat dry in the colander, and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with 1 tbsp. of olive oil, a couple pinches of Kosher salt, and 1 tsp. of curry powder. Mix thoroughly with your hands and let bake in the oven for 20 minutes. During the rest of the cooking process, keep an eye on your time. When the chickpeas are done, remove from oven and set aside for plating.
In the mixing bowl with chicken, add the flour, 2 tsp. of curry powder, and a few pinches of salt. Mix well to coat the chicken.
Using a large dutch oven or pot, heat up 2 tbsp. of olive oil over medium high heat. Let oil heat up before adding the chicken. Lay the chicken in one single layer and let brown on one side for a few minutes. Stir every minute, always leaving the diced chicken in ONE single layer. Let brown on all or most sides. This process should take about 5-7 minutes or so. Remove chicken and set aside, even if you’re not sure it’s cooked through - it’ll cook more later. Turn heat down to medium low.
Add 2 more tbsp. of olive oil, along with the onion and garlic. Stir for about 30 seconds. Add the red curry paste and stir to combine. Let cook on medium low for a couple of minutes.
Add the chicken broth or stock, soy sauce, fish sauce, and sugar. Turn heat to medium or just above in order to achieve a simmer. May take a few minutes! Once it’s simmering, add the chicken back in. Let simmer and slightly thicken up for about 2 minutes.
Add the coconut milk and wait for it to reach a simmer once again. Once simmering, add in the rice noodles UNCOOKED. Let them cook in the curry mixture. Taste for “doneness”. Once done, turn the heat to low, mix in a handful or two of fresh spinach. Turn off heat and serve immediately.
Plating: Serve in a bowl since it’s a little saucy! Top with the crispy chickpeas (don’t mix into the curry while it’s in the pot or dutch oven), and some cilantro for garnish/added flavor.