Thai Coconut Curry Soup

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon a wonderful soup recipe that was shared at my Marvelous Mondays party. Cindy from Everyday Insanity shared a  Thai Coconut Chicken Soup recipe at the party and when I saw it, I knew I had to try it. I enjoy making soups and I love to try new things. Lately I’ve been trying different ethnic inspired recipes, specifically Thai, Chinese, Greek and  Indian inspired recipes. They all have great flavor that comes from the combination of different spices including curry, turmeric, ginger and cinnamon. I don’t have all of the recipes that I’ve made posted yet but you can check out a few of them here if you are interested in trying any of them out.

I made the soup a few nights ago and it was oh so fantastically delicious! It was also pretty simple to make. I didn’t have all of the ingredients called for in the recipe so I made a few substitutions. I served the soup over rice, as was suggested in the original recipe, and it definitely paired well with the rice. One thing that I will do next I make this recipe is to make this recipe vegan. I will use vegetable broth rather than chicken broth and I will leave out the chicken. The flavors in this soup are bold and the soup would taste just fine without any meat or meat products. Why vegan, you ask? Well, I don’t feel that I always have to eat meat or meat products during every meal! Plus, it tastes good without meat, why not make the meal vegan? I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Thai Coconut Curry Soup

Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thin sliced (about 1/4 inch thick)
• 1/3 C shredded carrots
• 3 C chicken broth
• 1 15oz can of coconut milk
• 3-4 small sweet red peppers, chopped (not bell peppers, these are shaped like chili peppers)
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 2 tsp fish sauce (can be found at Asian markets or in the ethnic section of your grocery store)
• 3 green onions – white parts chopped, green parts sliced and reserved
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 tbsp cornstarch (I used this to thicken the soup a little)
• 1 tbsp peanut oil
• Cooked short grain rice, if desired
• Salt to taste

Directions

1. In a large pot, heat the peanut oil over medium heat. Add the onions, red pepper, garlic and carrots. Saute until tender.
2. Add the chicken, curry powder, chili garlic sauce and fish sauce and mix well. Saute for about 2 minutes.
3. Add the coconut milk, chicken broth and 2 tbsp of cornstarch. Mix well and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
4. Add the lime juice and salt to taste.
5. Serve over rice, if desired.