Tame the Heat and Treat Your Thai Curry Like Pasta Sauce

I understand Thai curry can be hot. Maybe it was the pad gra pao recipe you tried, or the unexpected chili in your meal two years ago that made you throw in the towel forever, but I want to encourage you to try again. However, this time I am going to arm you with a method to control the spices on your plate. Whether you’re new to Thai cooking or a chili lover looking for a shake up, you should cook yourself spaghetti and treat yourself to Thai curry like pasta sauce.

Using Thai curry as a pasta sauce gives you a solid mix of the familiar and the adventurous, and it’s not even that hard. Bunches of thin soft rice noodles instead of steamed white rice are a common combination for some Thai dishes. The bunches of noodles are actually great at soaking up the layer of spicy liquid, and the starchy carbs can help soften the heat.

If you have rice noodles, you can use them, but if your closets are full of angel hair or linguine, go ahead. Prepare Thai curry, green, red or yellow, according to recipe or, if using a jar, according to label directions. Be aware that the consistency will be significantly thinner than tomato sauce, so instead of tossing the pasta with the sauce, serve the cooked pasta separately with a bowl of curry sauce. Use a spoon instead of a fork (or both) to prepare the sauce.

There are two styles of serving pasta you can use. The first is a spoonful of curry on top of the noodles. Take a spoonful of curry and put it on a small piece of pasta. Eat and decide how warm you are. If it’s too spicy, you can easily add more noodles. Not sharp enough? Pour another spoon. The second way is to dip the pasta in a bowl of curry. Cut off a spoonful of pasta with a spoon. Dip the pasta spoon into the curry and let it soak the noodles and fill the bowl of the spoon. Eat the whole spoon. I suggest this method when you know you can handle the spices.

You can also add your favorite pastes. Do you usually like spaghetti meatballs? Let these meatballs boil into curry. Thai yellow curry fettuccine primavera with peas, peppers and zucchini sounds great. The recipe below uses canned massaman curry, which is my favorite, and is a great mild curry to start with.

Massaman Primavera with Meatballs

Ingredients:

• ½ can massaman curry (about 2 ounces)
• ½ can of coconut milk (6 or 7 ounces)
• 5-8 meatballs, cooked
• ¼ cup coarsely chopped red pepper
• 3 tablespoons frozen peas
• 1 serving thin noodles, cooked (rice noodles, spaghetti, linguine or angel hair)

In a small saucepan, sauté the massaman curry over medium heat for about 2 minutes, moving the pasta over the saucepan. Add half of the coconut milk until the mixture is smooth. Let it simmer for a few minutes. Add the meatballs, vegetables and the other half of the coconut milk. Stir until well blended. Cover the pot with a lid and let the mixture simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the peppers are tender. Serve with freshly prepared noodles.