Vegetarian Massaman Curry Noodles
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Massaman Curry is a delicious Thai curry sauce that pairs perfectly with rice noodles and vegetables to create an easy gluten free and vegetarian recipe, made in just 29 minutes!
Starting the sauce with a prepared curry paste makes it so easy to make. And don’t worry, I have two great recommendations for prepared curry paste that you can easily buy online and makes the perfect base for a scrumptious sauce!
Add this massaman curry to your list of easy homemade curry recipes, along with this popular Thai Yellow Curry and these delicious Meatballs in Green Curry Sauce.
When it comes to ordering from my favorite Thai restaurant, I can never decide between a noodle dish and a curry dish. Which means I usually order both! So when I was making my own massaman curry at home, I decided to combine the two into an epic massaman curry noodle dish!
While this recipe is vegetarian, you can easily add chicken, shrimp or beef to the dish, if you’d like. The real star of the show here is the sauce! Massaman curry sauce can be a long and laborious process if you make homemade curry paste from scratch.
Luckily for you all, I scoured the internet and my favorite Asian markets to find not one but TWO delicious store bought curry pastes that you can turn into a delicious Massaman Curry sauce at home in no time!
Maesri Masaman Curry Paste is my favorite in the vegetarian category. It does not contain shrimp paste, which makes it perfect for this vegetarian curry. Mae Ploy Massaman Curry Paste is my favorite in the non-vegetarian category. While it’s delicious and provides an authentic massaman curry flavor, it also contains shrimp paste, so therefore it won’t work for vegetarians.
Massaman curry is slightly sweet and not spicy, which is perfect for those with sensitive taste buds to spice. The flavors are epic, it’s made in only 29 minutes and is guaranteed to become a new family favorite! No need to order take out, when you can make this delicious dish at home for a quarter of the cost in under 30 minutes!
Table of contents
What is massaman curry?
Massaman curry is a fusion of Thai curry, paired with Indian flavors. It combines a Thai style red curry, which features dried chilies, garlic, lemongrass and galangal with Indian spices, like coriander, cumin, cinnamon and cardamom. The result is a rich, flavorful curry that’s both sweet and mild in flavor.
Traditionally, meat, usually chicken, or vegetables are cooked in massaman curry sauce, then the dish is served over cooked jasmine rice. Fish sauce or soy sauce, tamarind paste or lime juice and sugar are added to the curry sauce to provide the perfect balance of sweet, salty and sour in this dish.
How to make it
- Heat oil in a large skillet or wok on the stove over medium high heat.
- Note #1: I use coconut oil, but olive oil or avocado oil can be used in it’s place.
- Start by pan frying the curry paste with onions in the skillet. This really brings out the flavors in the curry paste.
- Add vegetables to the skillet with the curry paste and onions. Saute the vegetables for 3 minutes.
- Note #2: For the vegetables in this recipe, I used broccoli, carrots and bell peppers. You can use almost any vegetable you’d like. Cauliflower, green beans, sugar snap peas or eggplant could all be added or substituted for the vegetables used in this recipe.
- Add unsweetened full fat coconut milk, sugar, peanut butter and soy sauce to the skillet. Stir everything together, bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium.
- Note #3: roasted peanuts are a traditional part of massaman curry, which is why I added peanut butter to the sauce and diced peanuts on top of this homemade curry recipe.
- Note #4: I highly recommend using full fat coconut milk vs. reduced fat coconut milk to give the sauce it’s delicious creaminess.
- Simmer the vegetables in the massaman curry sauce for about 10 minutes, or until tender.
- While the vegetables are simmering, cook the rice noodles in a pot of boiling water.
- Once the noodles are cooked, remove one cup of water from the pot of rice noodles and add it to the massaman curry sauce.
- Drain the rice noodles and add them to the skillet with the massaman curry.
- Stir in two teaspoons lime juice, then transfer the massaman curry noodles to bowls for serving.
- Top with fresh cilantro, diced green onions and chopped peanuts.
- Add a lime wedge to the side of each bowl for squeezing over the curry.
Is it gluten free?
This Massaman curry recipe is gluten free. Always make sure to check the curry paste used to make sure that it’s gluten free. The two curry pastes that I recommend are gluten free.
These are Mae Ploy Massaman Curry Paste, which is gluten free, but contains shrimp paste, so it’s not vegetarian. And Maesri Masaman Curry Paste, which is both gluten free and vegetarian, as it does not contain shrimp paste.
What to serve with it
Our favorite Thai restaurant in San Diego, Koon Thai, serves roti bread with a massaman curry dipping sauce. I order it every time we go because it’s such a delicious combo! Try out this homemade roti bread recipe for dipping into this massaman curry.
Whenever I’m going out for Thai food, I always start with a Thai Green Papaya Salad or Tom Kha Soup. Try your hand at making one of these recipes to serve with this curry dish to create an epic Thai meal at home!
More Thai recipes to try
Looking for more delicious Thai recipes to try at home? Check out these 5 popular recipes!
- Drunken Noodles
- Thai Peanut Sauce
- 15 Minute Vegetarian Pad Thai
- Thai Yellow Curry
- Thai Coconut Soup with Potstickers
Vegetarian Massaman Curry Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 cup onion, large dice
- ⅓ cup massaman curry paste
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1 cup carrots, large dice
- 1 cup bell pepper, sliced
- 15 oz can unsweetened full fat coconut milk
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp lime juice
- 8 oz rice noodles
- 1 cup cooking water from rice noodles
Toppings
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- ¼ cup green onions, chopped
- ¼ cup peanuts, chopped
- 1 lime, sliced into wedges
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove.
- Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet or wok on the stove over medium high heat.
- Add the onion and massaman curry paste to the skillet, saute 2-3 minutes.
- Add the broccoli, carrots and bell pepper, saute for 3 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk, sugar, peanut butter and soy sauce to the skillet and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer for 10-12 minutes.
- While the vegetables are simmering, add the rice noodles to the boiling water, turn the heat on the stove off and allow the rice noodles to soak in the hot water for 8-10 minutes.
- Add one cup of the water from the noodles to the vegetable curry.
- Drain the remaining water from the noodles and add the noodles to the skillet with the vegetable curry.
- Add the lime juice to the skillet, then toss everything together to combine.
- Transfer to bowls and top with cilantro, green onions and chopped peanuts.
- Serve with a lime wedge on the side for squeezing over the dish.
Notes
- Gluten Free: This recipe is gluten free. Always make sure to check the massaman curry paste ingredients to make sure they’re gluten free. The curry paste linked to in this recipe is gluten free.
- Vegan: This recipe is vegan when a curry paste is used that does not contain shrimp paste. The curry paste linked to in this recipe is vegan.
- Vegetables: The vegetables in this recipe can be substituted for the vegetables of your choice. Other vegetable options might include cauliflower florets, sugar snap peas, green beans or eggplant.
Nutrition Facts
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