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Frugal Recipes | Soups | Thai Coconut-Curry Soup
Compiled by Vicki McClure DavidsonFrom Almost Meatless: Recipes That are Better for Your Health and the Planet
By Joy Manning, Tara Mataraza Desmond
To home cooks, restaurant favorites sometimes feel a bit out of reach. But those fragrant bowls of soup at authentic Thai joints seem much harder to copy than they actually are. The characteristic mix of sour, sweet, and salty is easy to attain with a combination of supermarket shortcuts (Thai red curry paste) and authentic ingredients—don't even try to skip the lemongrass!
Want a vegetarian soup? Just omit the chicken and fish sauce.
- 1 T. vegetable oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 1/2 tsp. red curry paste
- 8 c. chicken stock or vegetable broth
- 2 stalks lemongrass, rough tops trimmed and bulbs smashed
- 1 bone-in skinless chicken breats (about 6 oz.)
- 8 oz. rice noodles
- 2 tsp. fish sauce
- 5 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
- 5 fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced
- 1/2 c. coconut milk
- 2 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
- 1 lime, half juiced and half cut into wedges
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for about 30 second, or just until fragrant. Stir in the curry paste. Sauté briefly, then add the stock, mixing to combine. Add the lemongrass and simmer the mixture for about 10 minutes.
Add the chicken and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 160 deg. F. Remove the chicken and let cool.
Add the noodles, bring to a boil, and cook until the noodles are just tender.
When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it into small pieces and add the meat back into the pot. Stir in the fish sauce, basil, mint, coconut milk, and scallions. Remove the lemongrass and squeeze the lime juice into the soup.
Serve the lime wedges with each bowl of soup.
Serves 4 to 6.
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