Thai Coconut Curry Soup Recipe

I reorganized some of my kitchen shelves recently and found a can of red curry paste that I had forgotten about. That, combined with some vegetables I had wasting away in the fridge, inspired me to make this soup. I’m sure it doesn’t stray too far from the usual coconut curry soup, but I think the great thing about this recipe is you can add whatever you have lying around and it will taste great. In my version, I was able to used up my leftover brown rice, and some carrots and mushrooms that I had used earlier in the week. Look in your fridge and see what combinations you can come up with.

• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1.5 Tbsp minced shallot (about 1 medium)
• 1 Tbsp minced ginger
• 1 diced green bell pepper
• 1 diced red bell pepper
• 1/2 c. diced white mushrooms
• 2 medium carrots, shredded or cut into thin sticks
• 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 4 c Thai culinary stock (I used my local Wegmans’ variety, but you could probably improvise if needed by using vegetable stock and Thai spices like lemongrass, Kaffir lime leaves, and Sriracha chile sauce.)
• 1 (15-oz) can coconut milk
• 1 can (about 5 Tbsp) red curry paste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 c washed green beans, cut into 2 in. pieces
• 1 (15-oz) can straw mushrooms, drained
• 2-3 Tbsp fish sauce
• 3 c brown rice
• Cilantro
• Lime wedges

1. In a large stock pot, cover bottom with vegetable oil. Over medium-high heat, sauté shallots and ginger for 3 minutes, or until shallots are slightly browned.
2. Add diced green and red peppers. Cook for 2 minutes or until softened. Add the white mushrooms and carrots and cook for 3 minutes.
3. Add the chicken and cook until the outside turns white. Pour in the stock, coconut milk and red curry paste and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add the green beans and straw mushrooms. Continue to simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, or until the chicken pieces are cooked through and the vegetables are softened. You may now season the broth with a couple of tablespoons of fish sauce. Continue to simmer on low heat until soup is ready to be served.
5. To serve, spoon about 1/3 c rice into individual bowls. Ladle the soup into the bowls, and garnish with cilantro. Each person can season their bowl with more fish sauce, a pinch of sugar and juice from a lime wedge.

Serves 8 (about 1 c per serving). Total prep time: 40 minutes Calories: 236.9 Total Fat: 17.5g Saturated Fat: 11.2 g Cholesterol: 10.25mg Sodium: 1212mg Total Carbohydrates: 14.9g Fiber: 3.9g Protein: 9.0g This is a recipe you can easily play around with, and definitely use what you have and what is on sale as opposed to running out and getting a lot of groceries. I used brown rice because I already had a couple of cups cooked, but any kind of rice will do. Likewise, most vegetables would taste good in the soup, so use what you have on hand. To make this a vegetarian soup, simply substitute the chicken breasts for pieces of tofu. This keeps well for a few days and the flavors really develop the longer they sit together.

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