Thai Coconut Curry Soup
A family favorite. The perfect combination of mild curry, creamy coconut and fresh lemongrass. The flavors and aromas in this broth are heaven. This, my friend, is comfort in a bowl on a cold January day.
My dear friend Michele, gave me an amazing cookbook with all sorts of soup recipes in it years ago….and that began my love for coconut curry soup. Over time, I realized that I needed to write my own version when I would hear myself trying to pass along the recipe: “Hold on…let me just write some notes for you…oh-and I do this…oh-and I add that.” This is my son’s favorite soup. Every time I have it ready for him when he comes home from school, he squeals with excitement. I hope you feel the love when you make it for the first time.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. canola oil
- 3 tbsp. minced lemongrass or lemongrass paste
- 3 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated on microplain
- 2 large garlic cloves, grated on microplain
- 2 ½ tsp. Thai red curry paste
- 6 c. chicken broth (regular, not low-sodium)
- 3 tbsp. fish sauce
- 1 ½ tbsp. sugar
- ½ tsp. salt
- 8 oz. white mushrooms, sliced as thin as possible
- 2 chicken breasts, cut into tiny bite size pieces
- 2 cans unsweetened coconut milk
- 3 tbsp. fresh squeezed lime juice
- fresh chopped cilantro, for topping
- 4 c. cooked jasmine rice, for topping
Instructions
- Make sure all of your ingredients above are chopped, minced, etc. This is important for keeping the recipe easy.
- Heat oil in large pot on medium heat until fluid and hot, but not yet smoking.
- Add lemongrass, ginger and garlic stirring constantly for about 40 seconds.
- Add curry paste, and continue to stir constantly for another 30 seconds.
- Add ½ cup of the chicken broth, stirring to dissolve the curry paste.
- Add the remaining chicken broth, fish sauce, salt, sugar and mushrooms.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat, partially cover and simmer for 40 minutes.
- Add the chicken and bring the mixture back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
- Add coconut milk and lime juice. Stir and heat on medium for a couple of minutes until mixture is heated through but not boiling.
- Give it a taste, it should be an explosion of flavors in your mouth. If not, it needs a little more salt to bring out the flavors. Add salt to taste until it’s just right.
- Serve with a spoonful of jasmine rice on top, sprinkle with cilantro.
Notes
- Broth: Sometimes it can be temping to reduce the amount of time that a broth simmers, especially when you are in a rush. Soups need time to develop the flavors properly, do not shorten cooking time.
- Fresh Ginger: When preparing fresh ginger, trim off any knobs with your knife, then peel with a vegetable peeler and grate on a micro plain. If you don’t have a microplain, you can mince it with a knife…but I find I get more flavor and have less chance of large chunks in the soup when I use the microplain.
- Fresh Lemongrass: When preparing, remove the outer sheaths, using the inner sheaths that are softer and lighter in color. Avoid using any parts that appear dried out, brown, yellow or woody. I have used the lemongrass paste when I can’t find fresh lemongrass and the flavor turns out just as nice.
- Fish Sauce: If you are new to cooking with fish sauce, the aroma on its own may be something you are not used to, but trust me, it’s a vital component in the amazing flavors of this broth. The soup will not taste how the fish sauce initially smells on its own:)
- Sugar: I prefer to use organic cane sugar in this recipe, but if you don’t have it, regular sugar will work as well.
