Thai Coconut Soup

Delicious, packed with flavor, super versatile, and easy too!

Ingredients

Sauté and spice

And broth

Coconut milk & shrimp

Bok choy leaves

Enjoy!

Another dedication to my love of spicy broths. And another shout-out to Hana Market around the corner from my house for delivering on some of these essentials. I used to avoid recipes that called for special ingredients, or I would just leave out the ingredient. And only recently have I learned how much flavor I was missing out on. So if you enjoy Asian cooking… buy fish oil, buy curry paste, and while it’s not in this recipe buy sesame oil. Those flavors are really irreplaceable.

The same goes for fresh ginger and lemongrass. I think store-bought broth sometimes lacks a depth of flavor, but that can easily be made up with good aromatics and spices.

So please enjoy! And modify with what you’ve got. The first time I made this, I added chopped carrots and onion and tomatoes for extra vegetables. I also have made this with by adding seared chicken and seared tofu. It’s very easy to adjust with what you’re craving!

*yields 2-3 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

• 2 tbsp fresh grated ginger

• 2 heads of bok choy

• 1 stalk lemongrass

• 2 tsp red curry paste

• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

• 3 tbsp fish sauce

• 1 tbsp light brown sugar

• 1 can coconut milk

• 1/2 lb fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced

• 1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

• 1 lime

• bunch fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Prepare vegetables: Cut off ends of the bok choy and rinse; the stalks often have dirt. Slice the stems (like celery) and then roughly chop the leaves, keeping the stems and leaves separate. Using the back of a knife, hit the lemongrass in several places— bruising the herb releases its citrusy aroma and flavor. Halve the lime. Wash and slice the mushrooms. Roughly chop cilantro.

2. Sauté veggies: Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the bok choy stems and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté another few minutes until they start to brown. Stir the ginger, lemongrass, and curry paste in and toss to coat. Cook for about 1 minute or until fragrant.

3. Cook soup: Pour the broth over the mixture. Stir in the fish sauce and brown sugar. Simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Add coconut milk: Cook about 5 minutes.

5. Add shrimp: Cook until no longer translucent, about 5 minutes.

6. Finish and serve: Stir in the bok choy leaves until they are wilted. Add lime juice; season with salt and pepper; garnish with cilantro. Serve over rice for a fuller meal, I enjoy it over Jasmine rice.