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Saucy, creamy 20 Minute Red Curry Noodles with Fried Coconut Garlic. The best quick and easy spring noodles! Make these saucy noodles with whatever you have on hand, I used a mix of zucchini, then stirred in lots of coconut milk and rice noodles. Add some heat with curry paste, and balance it all out with a squeeze of lime. The best part…all you need for this recipe are pantry ingredients and just about 20 minutes!
These curry noodles couldn’t be easier, AND they ended up being one of my favorite recipes of the week! I’ve been wanting to make Thai red curry noodles for a while but held off until I had just the right idea. I wanted mine to be simple…but just a touch different too!
I was inspired by the Thai basil plants growing in the pantry and my brother’s trip to Thailand. It’s been a while since I did a good saucy curry. So I decided to brainstorm a bit until I finally came up with the perfect saucy noodle!
Here are the details…
As you can imagine, the details are pretty simple, but everything starts with that fried coconut garlic. What is fried coconut garlic you ask? Well, it’s fried garlic with the addition of coconut flakes, so it’s even more delicious.
Most curry noodles come just as is, in their delicious curry, and topped with fresh herbs and lime juice. As I mentioned, I wanted mine to stand out a bit. A nice, salty-sweet garlic crunch sounded just perfect for topping my noodles. And that’s just what the fried coconut garlic adds. It gives a crunch plus a salty-sweet, garlicky bite. Totally delicious and makes the noodles “extra special”.
Once the garlic is fried up, everything comes together extremely quickly. For the noodles, I love using thicker cut linguine style rice noodles or egg noodles, but super-thin vermicelli rice noodles work great too if you prefer thin! Really, use whatever noodle you love or have on hand. Just be sure to find a noodle that will hold up well in a good amount of curry sauce.
Now that sauce! You’ll need three key ingredients: veggies, curry paste, and coconut milk.
For the veggies, again, you can use whatever you have on hand…bell peppers, broccoli zucchini, they all work, so use what you like or what you have. Cook up the veggies, then add the curry paste, coconut milk, and a dash of soy sauce. You could throw in some fish sauce too, which would be delicious. Simmer everything for a minute or two.
Toss the noodles with the sauce, and guys that’s it. SIMPLE is the name of the game here.
Some notes for you!
I love a spicy red Thai curry paste (my favorite is the Thai Kitchen brand) and full-fat canned coconut milk. The curry paste and coconut milk are key to this recipe. They are the flavor and the creaminess to the curry, so don’t skimp on them!
As soon as the curry is done, serve it up with lots of that fried garlic crunch on top. It’s important to eat the curry as soon as you toss it with the noodles. The noodles will soak up all that amazing sauce pretty quickly.
Finish with some spicy chili peppers, lots of fresh Thai basil, and lime juice. Dinner in just about twenty minutes and made using pantry staples…plus whatever vegetable you’ve got on hand!
I love a fancy meal, but there’s really something to be said about a simple dish like this. They’re always so well loved!
Looking for other quick 20 minute recipes? Here are some of my favorites:
20 Minute Honey Garlic Cashew Chicken and Coconut Noodles
20 Minute Florentine Butter Chicken with Burst Cherry Tomatoes
Honey Garlic Butter Shrimp in 20 Minutes
Lastly, if you make these 20 Minute Red Curry Noodles with Fried Coconut Garlic, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
20 Minute Red Curry Noodles with Fried Coconut Garlic
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 601 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces rice noodles
- 4 tablespoons sesame oil
- 6-8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons finely shredded coconut
- flaky salt
- 2 zucchini or summer squash diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 2-3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 1 (14 ounce) can full fat coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 2 teaspoons honey
- juice from 1 lime
- 1/2 cup fresh basil or cilantro, roughly chopped
- fresno peppers, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Cook rice noodles according to packaged directions. 2. Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden, about 3 minutes. Stir in the coconut and cook until the garlic is crisp and the coconut is toasted, about 2 minutes. Spoon the mix out of the skillet and drain onto a paper towel, season with salt. 3. Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the zucchini and cook 2-3 minutes until softened. Stir in the curry paste and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.4. Pour in the coconut milk, 1/3 cup water, soy sauce, and honey. Stir to combine, bring the mixture to a boil, cook 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. If the sauce thickens too much, add additional water to thin. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice and basil.5. To serve, divide the noodles and sauce between bowls. Top with peppers, fresh basil, and the fried garlic.
This was simple and made with all pantry ingredients- making this dish a real winner. The fried coconut garlic brought it up a notch! I highly recommend making this!
Hey Mary,
I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
We are going to make this tonight! You mentioned adding in different veggies and I was wondering what your thoughts would be on adding in asparagus. I have a patch that is growing like crazy right now and kind of need to find more ways to eat them up. I was just not sure how it would go with the flavors here. Little side note, all of your recipes that we’ve had have been AMAZING! My girls are asking now if this is another HBH recipe & are super excited when it is. Thank you for all of the deliciousness.
Hey Nikki,
I think asparagus would be fantastic! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
Just made the Red curry noodles with fried coconut garlic and it tasted amazing. Really easy recipe to follow, will definitely make it again
Hey Joanne,
I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
OMG. We LOVED the unique sweet, salty, and spicy flavoring of this dish! My boyfriend thinks I’m a good cook because of your unique recipes!
Hey Kathryn,
I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
Hi!! For the Fresno peppers should we use Bell peppers or Chile peppers? Thanks!!
Hey Kathryn,
I used Fresno peppers, if you don’t have access to those, I would use another spicy pepper that you enjoy! I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
Hello! This looks unreal, planning on making for supper tonight. I couldn’t find Fresno peppers at my local grocer. Would jalapeño be the next best option here?
Thank you!
Hey there,
Yes, jalapeños would be great to use! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
Thanks for the recipe! Definitely a great use of zucchini. For others attempting:
– this took me more than an hour to make, 20 minutes is straight cook time alone for all the steps
– this is much closer to 580cal/serving (unless you make it >4 servings
Hey Amy,
Awesome! I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xTieghan
I made this today, and it was stellar! I added some diced red & yellow peppers, along with a can of garbanzo beans to the zucchini. I didn’t have any basil, cilantro, lime, or fresno peppers, but will be sure to have them for next time. Truly, this is one of those recipes that is simply delicious and perfect for adding to dinner rotations when you want to keep things interesting. I agree with Tieghan that the fried coconut garlic is a must on top (definitely recommend unsweetened coconut!). My three kids really enjoyed this-especially our semi-picky teenager; she has requested it be made again next week! Thank you for once again creating wholesome, interesting, and delicious recipes!
Hey Merrily,
Awesome! I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xTieghan
this was amazing!! I added an orange bell pepper to the sauce for the last 4 minutes as it was cooking so they were still tender and that was great too. Seriously so good and so fast. I felt lIke I ordered takeout. I’m a vegetarian and my husband loves meat so finding meatless options that he loves is always a challenge. He was raving about this dish the next day too. This will now be on our meal rotation! Thank you Tieghan
Hey Nikki,
Awesome! I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xTieghan
I’m not sure if anyone else had this problem but the sauce base definitely was missing some depth. I would say +1 tablespoon of paste, I would also add more garlic, and perhaps a serrano pepper or two when cooking down the ginger. I saw a different commenter mention fish sauce, I should have tried that – might have added more depth. Great recipe, but definitely needs a bit more backbone before it’s a hit.
Hey Kai,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! xTieghan
Hi
This recipe looks really good !! I am wondering if you used frozen grated coconut or the dry unsweetened grated coconut ?
Thanks and looking forward to making it !
Alexandra
Hey Alexandra,
I used dry unsweetened shredded coconut. Here’s the link for an example: http://l.thrv.me/HBH5310-bobs-red-mill-shredded-coconut-u
I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I want to make this for dinner but with a meat. I have pork steaks. Do you have any suggestions for seasonings or how to incorporate?
Hey Megan,
Do you mean pork chops? You could cook them on the side and serve with the dish. Otherwise, I think chicken or shrimp would work well here. I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
I just made this and it is amazing. I wish I doubled the portions. The coconut garlic mix was my favourite part. Thanks for such a great and inexpensive recipe
Hey Paulina,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am delighted that it was enjoyed! Have a fantastic week! xTieghan
Made this and delicious! Used a 16 oz package of rice noodles, so it was not as saucy, but the family still enjoyed it. A commenter said it was sweet and could do without the honey. My family didn’t think it was sweet at all. Don’t think it was the additional noodles I used, as I tasted sauce before adding noodles. The produce stand didn’t have Thai basil, so used regular, and also no Fresno peppers. I offered to prep a jalapeño for the family, but they declined, but I did choose to top with green onions. Crunchy coconut garlic is not to be skipped. Can’t wait to make this again when my other kid gets home from college!
Hey Shelly,
Happy Sunday! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Made this tonight and it totally elevated my usual red curry dish. I didn’t have rice noodles on hand so had to opt for white rice. This recipe is saved and I’ll be coming back to it very often. Thank you for another awesome dish!
Hey Christine,
Happy Sunday! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed! xTieghan