Sweet Potato Coconut Pork Udon Bowls
A coconut broth thickened with sweet potatoes and served in big bowls loaded with shredded pork and udon noodles! These noodles were so warm and comforting! The combo of coconut milk and sweet potato formed a thick and lucious broth for these noodles. The bits of pork added so much depth of flavor!
The inspiration for Sweet Potato Coconut Pork Udon
Nothing like a big bowl of soup for comfort this time of year. I wanted to make a broth that had slight khao soi vibes but was a little more simplified and used sweet potato as the base. I decided to serve the sweet potato coconut broth with a coconut braised pork and thick udon noodles to create a big bowl of deliciousness! This was easy to put together and came out great for a weeknight dinner!
Make the sweet potato coconut broth
Onions and sweet potato in the pan. Next add chicken broth and coconut milk to this mixture. The potatoes will get nice and tender. After you cook the sweet potato with the broth and coconut milk, blend it up real smooth. This will form the amazing viscous and flavorful broth!
The pork was made from boneless spare ribs. I cooked it in a coconut milk, soy sauce, and chili paste mixture until it was super tender and falling apart! Add the pork and mushrooms to the blended sweet potato coconut broth.
Serving the Sweet Potato Coconut Pork Udon
Cook the udon and add it to the bowls. Ladle the creamy coconut sweet potato broth with plenty of mushrooms and pork over the udon noodles in the bowls.
And top with lime and mint. So good! You could also top this soup with other things like scallions, or some sliced Thai chilis.
I could eat this warming bowl of goodness every day in March. So much comfort in a bowl! I was feeling under the weather the day I made this and I already feel much better!
Twists on this recipe
You could add some other veggies or meats to the dish. I think some chicken would be really nice. I would love some red peppers too! Maybe a little spinach?
This Sweet Potato Coconut Pork Udon recipe is VERY loosely inspired by khao soi. VERY. If you are interested in an authentic khao soi, check out this recipe.
For more comforting soup recipes, check out my pepperoni udon, meatball parm soup, or this bbq brisket ramen!
Sweet Potato Coconut Pork Udon Bowls
Equipment
Ingredients
Pork
- 1 pound boneless country style pork ribs
- 1 can coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/4 cup sambol chili paste
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Broth
- 1 large onion diced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 3 inches ginger minced
- 1 large sweet potato peeled and diced
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 1 can coconut milk
- pinch to taste cumin
- pinch to taste curry powder
Soup
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 16 ounces udon noodles cooked according to package instructions rinsed and cooled.
- limes
- mint
Instructions
- Make the pork – mix the pork with the coconut milk, soy sauce, chili paste, vinegar, and salt in a baking dish. Cook at 300 for about 2 hours until the pork is fork tender. Shred the pork and keep it in the liquid until ready to use.
- Cook the onion with a little oil over medium heat until lightly browned on the edges. Add in the garlic, ginger, and sweet potato and cook another 3-5 minutes.
- Add in the vinegar and stir to combine. Scrape the pan to remove all the browned bits. Add in the stock, coconut milk, cumin, and curry. Bring to a simmer.
- Cook about 30 minutes until the sweet potato is soft. Blend smooth with a stick blender. If it feels gritty at all, simmer a bit more and blend again.
- Add in the mushrooms and simmer 5 minutes. Add in the pork and simmer another 5 minutes.
- Build a bowl with the noodles first, then ladle on the broth with some of the mushrooms and pork. Serve with mint and limes
What can be used to replace coconut milk?
It depends what you are looking for and what you can have in your diet. Any alt-milk could work. Regular dairy milk might curdle.