Thai Green Curry Pasta Salad

With the weather warming up, I got to thinking about picnics. And pasta salad. But a different kind of pasta salad. A curry kind.

Green Curry

• 2 medium jalapeño peppers, ends trimmed, seeds and pith removed, roughly chopped
• 1 medium shallot, roughly chopped
• 1½-inch piece ginger, peeled, roughly chopped
• 1 large clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced lemongrass
• ¾ ounce fresh basil leaves (~1 cup packed)
• ½ ounce fresh cilantro leaves (~¾ cup packed)
• zest and juice of 1 small-medium lime
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ cup canned full-fat coconut milk

Pasta Salad

• 2 8-ounce packages soft shirataki noodles, drained and rinsed, cut in 3-4 inch segments
• green curry from above
• ¾ pound fresh green beans
• 15-ounce can straw mushrooms
• 15-ounce can baby corn

1. Place all the curry ingredients, except for the coconut milk, in a food processor and pulse until a paste forms. Scrape down the sides and add the coconut milk. Pulse until thoroughly mixed. Place the noodles in a large bowl and cover with the sauce. Toss to coat. Let sit while you prepare the rest of the salad ingredients.
2. Trim the ends off of the green beans, then slice into 1-2 inch segments. Put approximately 1 inch of water in a medium pot, with a lid, that will fit a steamer insert. Cover and set over high heat, until the water is boiling. Add the steamer insert and then the green beans. Cover, and lower heat to medium. Steam for 5-6 minutes, until the green beans are tender but still have a bit of a bite. Drain and run under cold water to stop the green beans from cooking. Pat dry. Add to the noodles.
3. Drain and rinse the mushrooms and the baby corn. Pat dry. Cut the corn in thirds. Add to the noodles. Toss to coat. For best flavor, let the salad sit another 30 minutes before serving.

Serves 8

Shirataki noodles are usually packaged in water and refrigerated. They don’t have much taste on their own, which is why you want to let the salad sit so that they pick up the curry flavor. I like to use fettuccine style noodles. I think the thickness works better in a salad like this.

Straw mushrooms also don’t taste like much. Mike liked their texture though, so I went with them. However, I had been thinking about reconstituting dried shiitaki mushrooms and using those instead. Try that if you’d like more mushroom flavor. I would not suggest fresh mushrooms. They’ll release water into the curry sauce, diluting it.

Sometimes my grocery store has fresh lemongrass; sometimes it doesn’t. This was one of the times times they didn’t, so I used the pre-chopped stuff in a tube. If you can get fresh, I’m sure it’s better. My Thai Red Lentil Soup has instructions on preparing lemongrass.

This recipe is being shared in Allergy Free Wednesday and Gluten Free Wednesday.