Mi Ga Ti (Coconut Milk Noodles)

This was a big success in our house, I’ll definitely be doing this one on a regular basis. Wide flat rice noodles,served with a creamy, fairly sweet red curry coconut milk based sauce, served with  bean sprouts, garlic chives and an omelette. Classic Thai street food, it’s quick and easy to make and very satisfying. Oh and it’s a very mild Thai dish so if you struggle with spicy heat,give this one a try.

For 3 portions use:

• a large handful of pork mince (roughly 120g)
• half a pack of tofu (it freezes well) cut into cubes
• a pack of fresh rice noodles, pulled apart into individual strands (or 1 nest of dried noodles per person)
• 2 large handfuls of bean sprouts
• a small handful of Chinese garlic chives (or regular chives), cut into inch long pieces
• a tablespoon of red curry paste (I used Mae Ploy brand)
• a tablespoon of peanuts, roughly crushed
• 1 can of coconut milk
• a large pinch of sugar
• a big splash of tamarind concentrate (or juice of 1 lime)
• a big splash of yellow bean sauce

Optional Toppings:

• 2 egg omelette, rolled and sliced- recommended!!
• lime wedge
• cucumber slices
• extra Chinese garlic chives and bean sprouts
• chilli flakes
• half a red onion, finely sliced
• extra crushed peanuts

Prepare the toppings that you want to use, including your omelette. I used all the above though the extra chives and bean sprouts aren’t really necessary and were more for presentation.
Heat the coconut milk in a large pan, when starting to boil, add in the red curry paste and stir until it’s fully mixed. Add in the raw mince and break up in the sauce, cooking for around 5 minutes until it’s almost cooked through. Add in the tofu and garlic chives, stir again. Throw in the crushed peanuts, sugar, tamarind/lime and yellow bean sauce. While this cooks for a further 5 minutes, prepare the noodles…
If using dry, boil for a long as the packet suggests. If using fresh, drop the noodles into hot (doesn’t need to be boiling) water for up to 1 minute. No more or they’ll turn to mush. Check every 10 seconds or so to make sure. Drain and divide amongst the plates.
Back to the sauce; it should be reasonably thick now, have a check and a taste to see if it’s to your liking (adjust sweet/sour to your taste). Divide the sauce over the noodles and add as many of the toppings as you like.