Asian infused soup with instant noodles

For years I have been sodium-aware and have passed this awareness onto my kids.  And yet my daughter, while she was in high school and in university, loved noodles in a cup or the instant noodles with a flavour pouch.  While I doubt the noodles are the sodium culprit, I’m pretty sure the pouch contains a good portion of the recommended daily allowance.  Students in university live off them while I could never stomach them – the closest I came to a meal in a box was Kraft dinner.  But, I can see why people like them;  they’re cheap, easy to prepare and fill the gap when too busy to cook a meal.

Given that I’m not a fan of instant noodles I did, however, want to make a quick Asian-infused soup.  While I was in the noodle section of our local food store, I picked up 2 packages (59 cents each) and last night made soup from scratch using them.  Dinner was on the table in 30 minutes.  This is my take on the hugely popular ramen soup.

Serves 2
2 packages of instant noodles (discard flavour pouch)
1 large clove of garlic, chopped
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
1 to 2 tablespoons curry paste (can use red, green or yellow)
handful snow peas, washed and stems removed
1/2 red pepper, sliced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 to 2 teaspoons sesame oil
10 medium-sized shrimp
spring onions, chopped
handful cilantro, washed and chopped (stems included)
1 lime, cut in half
2 cups (500ml) coconut water (found in the drinks section of grocery store)

In a pot over medium-high heat add a splash of olive oil.  Add red pepper slices and sauté for a couple of minutes then toss in snow peas.  Stir.  Sauté until snow peas turn a bright green then add curry paste.  Stir to combine before adding garlic and ginger.  Next add shrimp and stir until fragrant.  Pour in coconut water and 1 cup of water (add 1 more cup if needed).  Bring to a boil and add the noodles.  Cover and cook until noodles are tender (roughly 2 minutes).  Remove from heat.  Using tongs, separate noodles and mix with other soup ingredients.  Stir in soy sauce, cilantro, and sesame oil.

Serve in bowls and top with spring onions and squeeze a lime half over the top.

The Culinary Chase’s Note:  Add a boiled egg to the soup and use pork or chicken in lieu of shrimp.  For more of my soup recipes, click here. Enjoy!