Avocado Curry Noodles

Serves 4

Healthy fats like avocado and coconut milk help us absorb nutrients, are vital for brain health and are necessary when building flavour. If you’re intimidated by making your own curry paste, don’t be! All you do is throw a bunch of goodies into a food processor or blender and that’s it.

For the curry paste:

• 2 spring onions, root ends removed

• ½ medium avocado, peeled

• ¼ yellow onion, chopped

• 30g (1 oz) fresh coriander, leaves and stems

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled

• 1 small jalapeño pepper, deseeded

• 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

• ¼ tsp ground cumin

• ¼ tsp ground coriander

• ¼ tsp ground turmeric

• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

• 1 tsp salt

• 60ml (2 fl oz) water

For the noodles:

• 1 tsp coconut oil

• ¼ yellow onion, sliced

• 1 tsp salt, divided

• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

• 1 (14 oz/414ml) can full-fat coconut milk

• 1 tbsp liquid aminos

• 1 (14 oz/397g) block firm tofu, cut into 1”(2.5-cm) cubes

• 1 (8 oz/227g) package brown rice pad Thai noodles

• 1 medium bunch broccolini, destemmed

• 1 tbsp coconut aminos

• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice

• Large avocado, thickly sliced

• Chopped spring onions, (optional)

1 Make your curry paste first. Just toss the spring onions, avocado, onion, cilantro, garlic, jalapeño, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, lemon juice, salt and water into your blender or food processor and blend until the ingredients are smooth. Pour the paste into a medium bowl and set it aside. 2 Now, make the noodles. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, combine the oil, onion and ½ teaspoon of the salt. Cook the onion for about 1 minute, until it starts to soften. Add the bell pepper and cook the vegetables for 1 minute. Add the curry paste and cook the mixture for 1 minute. Add the milk, liquid aminos and tofu. Cover the pan, turn down the heat to low and cook the curry for about 5 minutes. While this cooks, get some water boiling and cook your noodles according to the package’s instructions.

3 Your curry should be bubbling and cooking beautifully at this point. Add your broccolini, coconut aminos, lime juice and avocado. Cover the pan and cook the curry for 5 more minutes, until the broccolini is tender and bright green. Taste the curry for spiciness and saltiness, adjusting the spiciness and adding the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt if needed.

4 Serve the curry in four bowls: Add the noodles to the bowls, then place the curry sauce and veggies over the top of the noodles. Garnish the curry with the spring onions (if using).

Recipe from Cook. Heal. Go Vegan! by Bailey Ruskus (Page Street Publishing, Co. 2021). Photography by Bailey Ruskus.