Post Type ArchivesRecipes

Easy Red Curry Ramen

on 29 August 2025 29 August 2025 0

Red curry ramen with fresh noodles, cabbage, browned chicken and cilantro

Noodle soups are one of the greatest pleasures in life, but they tend to be very time-intensive – think Spicy Szechuan Beef Soup, or classic ramen that take around 10h to be done and dusted.

Well, not this one ! I wouldn’t ever post a bland noodle soup, as noodle soups are close to a religion to me. With a decent curry paste and a good broth, this Red Curry Ramen tastes just like one that’s been on the stove for hours, while you actually need 15 minutes to put it together ; all you need to do is to :

Heat up some red curry paste with coconut milk
Add broth ; let it simmer 10 minutes
Meanwhile, blanch your veggies, cook your noodles
Assemble with any leftover meat and herbs you want !

The bright orange broth tells you all you need to know : the depth and intensity of flavours, the spice-rich broth, and the milkiness of coconut are right here in front of you, demanding to be savoured. You don’t even need toppings : some noodles, some broth, and you’re good to go. I do recommend a touch of veggies though, which give a nice contrast texture-wise.

Granted, this is not an authentic recipe ; but it respects the Thai masterclass principles on balance, with a broth that is given contrast and depth of taste with the fish sauce, soy sauce and lime addition, and some freshness with cilantro.

If you’re willing to prep your own curry paste and broth, some time and work is needed, I admit ; the good knews is, you can put individual portions of those items in your freezer ; and whenever you feel soupy, you whip up a banging soup in a matter of minutes.

But even if you use ready-made curry paste and broth, you will be very happy with this recipe.

Easy Red Curry Ramen – Recipe

Ingredients – Where to find them

For some ingredients in this dish (like the red curry paste if you don’t make it yourself, or fish sauce and ramen), you might need to visit an Asian store :

If you’re in Paris :
- your could go to the K-mart near Opera (there are several others K-marts, check on Google) ;
- you can also go to Tang Frères in the 13th (they have other stores in Paris but be careful, some are small, this one is large) or Paris Store in the 10th ;
- ever since I moved to the 18th, I’ve been going to XP 16 or Chen Market, but those shops are slightly smaller, especially XP16, and you might not find everything you need.
If you’re in France :
- Paris Store has several shops across the country ;
- you can also order online ! There are several online Asian websites you can order from.
For my foreign friends : I bet you can easily find some Asian shops around you or online, but if you can’t, message me with your location and I will try to find it for you !

Recipe – Advice & key points

Do buy coconut milk in cans ; this way, you’ll have a coconut cream solidifed on top that you can use to initially cook your red curry paste.
Careful, depending on your curry paste and the amounts you’re using, this soup can turn out very spicy. If you don’t like the heat, don’t use more than a tablespoon for two !
If possible, use my recipe for the Thai clear pork broth, but it’s still fine if you use a ready-made chicken broth.
Use your imagination (and the current contents of your fridge) to pick your toppings !
- Having leftover chicken, pork, beef, tofu ? Now is the time to use it !
- A hard-boiled egg or a soft-boiled egg is a top pick if you don’t have another protein-or even in addition to the protein.
- Any veggie laying around would do ;
  - Come winter, my personal preference here would be some type of cabbage -any kind.
  - In summer, grilled eggplants, peppers or zucchinis would be sublime !
Ideally, I recommend making your own curry paste. If so, I don’t recommend making it on a weeknight ; make your curry paste over the week-end, for example, then you’ll have plenty to store in your freezer for anytime you feel like curry-ing.
- If using store-bought, it’s perfectly good too ! My two top picks would be the Maeploy and Namjai curry pastes. The Aroy-D brand is also great, plus it is vegan !
I recommend buying proper pre-cooked ramen for this recipe. It should look like this (possibly yellower for some brands), and is shelf-stable (so not even in the refrigerated section) :

Let’s get soupy!

Green Lasagna (with Swiss Chard and Zucchini)

on 29 August 2025 29 August 2025 0

Green Lasagna (with Swiss Chard & Zucchini)

A few weeks ago, I started craving ricotta & spinach lasagna after watching a mouth-watering video on Instagram. Yet I was frustrated because this was off-season, and I couldn’t bring myself to make it.

I tend not to remain frustrated, food-wise, for long.

The gears in my mind started turning, as usual, at nightfall, when I was tossing and turning in bed. Green lasagna. That was what I wanted. With cheese. Ain’t nobody said spinach was needed specifically ! Nor ricotta.

I was only a few google researchs away from my solution : the beloved Swiss Chard.

Swiss chard is at its best between May and October, which makes it perfect for your springy or summery cravings. Earthy, slightly bitter when raw, like Spinach, it turns mild and sweet when cooked, especially the leaves. It needs to be cooked a bit longer than Spinach, especially because of its fibrous stems.

To remove any remaining bitterness, I decided to combine Swiss Chard with Zucchinis. When I settled on zucchinis, I thought : Goat Cheese ! Yay ! I could taste this great pairing in my mouth, and couldn’t wait to give it life.

I was left dumbfounded by the fresh, fragrant yet generous taste of this lasagna dish ; you’d think it quite plain, with mostly, well, greens, but it was quite the opposite. The herbs used –mint, basil, chives and oregano– were instrumental in bringing that fragrance and freshness, aided by the bright acidity goat cheese and lemon provide. The richness of the creamy béchamel and the Pecorino romano leaves you craving for more after each mouthful.

Green Lasagna with Swiss Chard and Zucchini (Veggie) – Recipe

Ingredients – Pieces of advice

You can either pick fresh lasagna sheets or dry ones.
- If choosing dry ones, you’ll need to cook them 10mn longer, and to make sure your béchamel is liquid enough. Then it works great !
If you’re feeling lazy, you can replace swiss chard with frozen spinach, which saves quite a bit of prep time. You simply thaw them, squeeze them well, and slice them up roughly. That’s it !
You don’t need a fancy goat cheese log for these lasagna ; I used a supermarket one, and it worked well.

Off to your kitchen now !

Note : This happens to be a vegetarian dish, and I have never thought of it as such -I assure you your omnivore friends will be equally thrilled by this wonder !

Pan con Tomate 2 ways (Veggie / Cured Ham)

on 11 August 2025 11 August 2025 0

If you want to get my heart in 3 words, forget about I love you : I have 3 much sweeter words in mind.

Pan. Con. Tomate.

As I failed to understand younger, less is more. This dish is one of the most satisfying summer dishes I know. A true summer dish, with aromatic summery produce. A dish you won’t mind making even when it’s 40°C outside.

And such a dish is made within 10 minutes.

First, grate your tomatoes
Meanwhile, toast some bread
Add olive oil, basil, salt to your tomatoes
Rub garlic on your bread
Spread your tomato mixture on your bread
Add toppings (if any).

This beautiful dish does not need any topping. You could spread your tomato mixture to your bread and call it a day : it will still be the most amazing 5-mn open-faced sandwiches you’ve ever had.

Yet I simply felt like playing around with my pan con tomate. I started picturing olives and feta cheese on top of this beauty, and I knew I had to attempt this version.

But I do love the traditional ones, too. Pan con tomate y jamon (with cured ham) is iconic in Catalonia ; could my humble veggie version compare to this one ?

Spoiler alert ; it could. I was truly amazed to see how I instantly felt the superiority of the veggie version over the ham version. I’m no vegetarian, but I keep discovering how easy it is to favour, as much as possible, veggie-based dishes ; and how easy it is to make those veggies shine, when you give them the same consideration you would to meat. Quality is of the essence, as well as a bit of research on traditional cooking techniques and recipes -with a great many number of dishes that are naturally vegetarian.

Pan con Tomate 2 ways – Ingredients

Ingredients – Advice & key points

The amounts listed make around 10 small to medium toasts, which serve 5 as an appetizer, or 2-3 as a main.
It goes without saying but : use quality, in-season tomatoes ! This is truly a summer dish, where the tomato taste must shine.
Basil and garlic are optional, but highly, highly recommended.
If you don’t own a toaster (which I find quite handy), you can use :
- a pan on medium-high heat, and toast your slices 1-2 minutes per side ;
- an oven on grill mode if you prep a large batch ; broil for 1–2 minutes per side on high ;
- if you own a gas stove, using tongs, hold the bread directly over a gas flame for a few seconds on each side, moving it constantly to avoid burning.
You can use any bread you have on hand -just not industrial bread, please ; a fresh loaf from your local bakery is needed.
- I ask my baker to pre-slice the bread, as I find it much handier.
- I always keep a sliced bread loaf in my freezer. Then I have some whenever I like ; simply toast a slice or two straight from frozen, and there you go !
- If you can find rustic bread, this would the most traditional type for Pan con Tomate.
Feel free to play around with Pan con Tomate toppings !
- The most typical are either cured ham, anchovies or cheese.
- Feel free to have others, or none at all ! It will be de-li-cious anyway.

Let’s get it done !

Authentic Bun Thit Nuong (Vietnamese Grilled Pork Vermicelli)

on 5 August 2025 5 August 2025 0

Bun Thit Nuong : Vietnamese rice vermicelli with grilled pork in a lemongrass marinade, Do Chua, cucumbers, salad

Us Westerners all know and love Bo Bun (actually Bun Bo, or “rice vermicelli with beef”), especially with the crunchy spring rolls addition on top. In summer, you can see this rice noodle salad all over Vietnamese restaurants’ tables.

If you want an authentic taste though, you need to try instead the Bun Thit Nuong. This is 100% authentic Vietnamese street food, eaten all over the south (especially Saigon).

It usually consists of:

Cold vermicelli noodles
Grilled pork (thịt nướng), sometimes beef or chicken
Fresh herbs, Do Chua (pickled carrots/daikon), cucumber
Scallion oil
Nuoc Cham (fish sauce dressing)
Optional: spring rolls (chả giò) on top ; crushed peanuts.

I admit that I used to love eating a good Bun Bo, but that was before discovering Bun Thit Nuong. It’s almost the same kind of realization as when you go to Italy for the first time and try a real tonnarelli alla Carbonara ; within seconds you realize what you’ve been missing on, and you cannot go back.

Two adjustments here make a world of difference : the grilled pork, with its rich lemongrass-based marinade ; and the Nuoc Cham, when homemade, that packs a real punch and brings this simple salad to the next level.

As always with Vietnamese recipes, the balance between sugary, savoury and tangy is on point : the marinade is pungent with dark soy sauce, vinegar and heaps of aromatics, but the adequate use of honey and sugar offset any excess strength. Similarly, the Nuoc Cham kicks ass with its vinegar, lime and fresh chilies, but the sugar rounds it all out.

In my opinion, you don’t even need spring rolls here ; the flavours from the pork and the Nuoc Cham are more than enough to get a meal that makes your day. If you love spring rolls though, add some ! It’s still authentic by Vietnamese standards -simply not an automatic addition.