In Columbia, MD there is this little ‘hole-in-the-wall’ restaurant that my family just loves! It’s called An Loi. They serve the BEST Vietnamese food I have ever had. My husband and I are self-proclaimed “foodies” and I can tell you that we have had our fair share of Vietnamese food. My favorite thing to eat at An Loi is their Chicken Curry Pho (pronounced: ‘phu), which I always order with rice noodles and extra spice. It’s hot, it’s creamy (coconut milk), it’s yummy and I can eat the whole bowl! The portion is huge, but the smell and flavor is so intoxicating that you just can’t stop until every drop is gone.
Being in my current state of pregnancy, I can tell you that we have spent a fair amount of time there these past 8 1/2 months. So, I decided I would do my best to come up with a close substitute for when we just can not find a babysitter willing to indulge my late night cravings. Here is what I came up with. It’s easy and I have to tell you my kids horked this down.
*This would be a great crock-pot meal*

Simple Chicken Curry Soup

~Servers 6-8~

Food Stuffs:
1Whole roaster chicken-cleaned, skin on
1 Large onion-peeled and julienne
1 8oz can of chopped or diced tomatoes-drained and rinsed
10 oz Coconut Milk
1 Pkg rice noodles
32 oz Chicken broth-low sodium because we are going to add sea salt
Mild Red Curry paste, Curry powder, Chopped garlic, salt, cracked pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, lemon juice

Ok, this is so simple it’s gonna make your head spin. Are you ready?
Place your chicken in a large pot and seer it with oil. Once both sides are brown, add onions, tomatoes, garlic and spices.
Spices:
3 heaping TBS curry paste (I recommend Patak’s Original Mild Curry Paste)
4 heaping TBS chopped garlic
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cracked pepper
2 tsp curry powder
A splash of fresh lemon juice

Cover with chicken broth, place a lid on the pot and let simmer for 2 hours.

Remove the chicken from the pot, leaving the broth on low heat. Pull meat off the bones, and throw the skin and bones away.

Add the coconut milk and let simmer for about 10 minutes. This is where you would add your extra spice if you wanted to add heat to your soup. I knew my kids couldn’t eat this if I made it too spicy, so I reserved a portion for them and then finished the soup for my husband and myself. If you want to kick it up, here it is:
1 tsp crushed pepper flakes
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp additional black pepper
1 tsp curry powder

Cook the rice noodles. These are a little tricky the first time you make them. Some packages say to boil water and then let the noodles steep in the hot water. For some reason, mine always turn out weird when I do it that way. So, I usually boil them like I would regular noodles and just watch them very closely to make sure they don’t over or under cook. Once your noodles are finished, rinse them in cold water and set them aside.

Taste your soup to ensure the salt and heat is to your liking.  Place your noodles in a bowl and ladle a generous amount chicken and broth on top. At the restaurant they serve this with bean sprouts and fresh cilantro-it’s very tasty!

I am not a fan of pairing wine with curry-based dishes. Perhaps that is because I haven’t found a wine that is up to task of complimenting a good curry dish. I am open to suggestions, should you have any. I usually drink unsweetened iced tea with this meal. But like I said, I am open to suggestions.

This is my daughter, Sarayah enjoying  her soup and chopsticks :)