When asked what my favorite food is, I most always say Thai, especially Thai Coconut Curry Soup. I love the blend of sweet with spicy. The flavors are deep and rich, like a good comfort food. We have a great little public house restaurant in Pullman called Southfork. During the winter months they serve this delicious Thai coconut curry chicken soup. I bought a small cup of it to bring home to try my hand at replicating the recipe. I’m pretty proud of my efforts. The words out of my husband’s mouth were, “Oh…mmm…this is good…really good! Isn’t it satisfying to make good food?” Yes, it is. This soup is made with chicken, but if you are vegetarian, just replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth & replace the chicken with tofu.
Scott and I were on vacation one time when we came up with our motto, “Life’s too short to eat bad food.” We had eaten at a wonderful restaurant and had an absolutely amazing tasting meal. And even though the meal was expensive, we left feeling great about what we had ordered because the food was so deliciously rich and complex. The following evening we ate at another restaurant. We had a completely different experience. Although the meal was comparable in price to what we had payed for the prior evening’s meal, the food had no comparison. The flavors were bland, in fact you know it’s bad when you have to ask for salt just to pull some sort of flavor out of the meal. I remember not even finishing the dish; sometimes it’s not worth the calories. On our ride back to the hotel, we coined the phrase, “Life’s too short to eat bad food.” When you’re on vacation, try to ask the locals where the best food in town can be found; they usually know.
Lemongrass is a muted yellowish-green woody stalk used to flavor many Thai dishes. In this recipe, it is only
used for flavor during the cooking process. Due to its tough woody texture, the lemongrass is removed before serving.
In a large pot, place coconut milk, chicken broth, ginger, and lemongrass. Bring to a boil over medium high heat.
Mushrooms add a nice texture to the soup.
Add chicken, mushrooms, rice, fish sauce, Thai chili paste, sugar, curry, and cayenne pepper. Reduce heat to simmer.
Lime helps balance the spice. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 a lime into the broth and add the cilantro and
Jasmine rice. Just before serving add freshly chopped basil to the center of your bowl.
Thai Coconut Curry Soup
1 can (14 oz) Coconut Milk
1 can (14 oz) Lite Coconut Milk
2 Cans (14 oz) Chicken broth
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
2 Lemongrass stalks
2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
the juice from 1/2 a lime
2 Tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Thai chili paste
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cups Jasmine rice (fully cooked)
Chicken from 2 fully cooked chicken breasts
Salt to taste
In a medium saucepan, cook Jasmine rice. In a large pot, combine coconut milks, chicken broth, ginger, and lemongrass. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Add cooked chicked, mushrooms, fish sauce, sugar, chili paste, curry powder and cayenne pepper. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add lime, cilantro and cooked jasmine rice. Salt to taste and garnish with freshly cut basil.
I posted this recipe on the following blogs: http://glutenfreehomemaker.com/, DeliciousObsessions , ThisGalCooks
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