Thai Curry Soup — Jewberly Emiris

May 12

May 12 Thai Curry Soup

Several years ago I had the opportunity to attend a presentation by former missionaries to Thailand. The husband shared their story and his wife prepared a simple coconut milk soup. I loved it. I should have asked for the recipe right then and there but I didn’t. I’ve always regretted that as I have never been able to recreate that thick coconut-y creaminess over rice.

This is a different soup that I discovered in my recipe search along the way. I adapted it from a vegan coconut curry soup featuring tofu in the Real Simple Easy, Delicious Cooking book. It doesn’t have many ingredients but it’s bursting with flavor and brightness.

Kale has grown in popularity the last few years, the best way I’ve found to keep it crisp and fresh is to refrigerate it in a jar of water. (This reused peanut butter jar is the perfect size!)

We rarely had much fresh citrus growing up (it adds up quickly for a family of seven). But since Trevor and I are a family of two, I make it a point to always have lemons and limes on hand — I keep a jar of lemon juice in the fridge for emergencies but nothing beats the fresh stuff!

I buy carrots in bulk from the grocery store (not in plastic bags that way!) or from Imperfect Foods. I wash them well but I don’t peel them — there’s good flavor and nutrients in carrot skin!

I recently started buying fresh ginger instead of ginger paste in a plastic tube — before, I used ginger rarely so I thought it was a waste to buy fresh. I do cook with ginger quite often now but even if some of it withers before used, a little ginger for the compost pile is better than another plastic tube in the landfill.

I’ve used both canned coconut milk and canned coconut cream to make this soup — either one will work just fine.

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced

2 carrots, sliced into bite sized coins

1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste

2 cups chicken stock

1 14 ounce can coconut milk

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

3-5 torn kale leaves (compost the stems)

juice from 1 large lime

In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the chicken and carrots in the curry paste until chicken is mostly browned. (Add a little bit of oil if needed to avoid sticking.) Add in the chicken stock, coconut milk, and ginger; bring to a boil. Add kale and simmer until chicken is cooked through and carrots are just tender. Stir in lime juice and serve.

Note: You can serve this soup with cooked white rice for a more filling meal. Add rice to individual bowls rather than the soup itself so it doesn’t soak up all the liquid in the soup pot.