Unlike most soups, this one doesn’t take hours to simmer and develop flavor. It’s quick, and like most Thai-inspired cuisine, it’s a lil’ sweet, a lil’ spicy, a lil’ tangy and it’s complex flavor profile will have your friends thinking you worked way harder at it than you did. ENJOY
Ingredients:
- ½ pound tiger shrimp, rinsed and cut into small pieces (this variety has a nice firm texture but feel free to use any kind of shrimp, sub for chicken or omit completely)
- 2 cans coconut milk
- 16 oz chicken stock
- 1/2 package rice stick/glass noodles (the thinner the better for this recipe)
- 1 thinly sliced jalapeno
- 2 tbsp fresh diced ginger
- 1/2 of a medium red onion
- 4-5 stalks fresh lemongrass (died will work but fresh adds an unbeatable flavor)
- 2 large cloves fresh minced garlic
- 1 cup fresh chopped cilantro
- 2-3 tbsp red curry paste
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp spoon dark soy sauce/coconut aminos (Trader Joe’s for the win)
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
- salt and pepper to taste
(I also add a pinch of dried curry powder, turmeric and cayenne for an extra kick- all optional)
Instructions:
Grab a large soup or stock pot and add in a bit of coconut oil (any other oil works fine here) to the bottom and turn heat to medium/high.
Carefully slice your onion into thin slices, mince your garlic, and finely chop your ginger. Once hot, add in all three ingredients and gently sauté for about 5 min or until onion is softened, be careful not to burn your garlic. Next, add in chicken stock and turn up the heat a touch.
Trim away the rough white ends of the lemongrass and discard, then cut the remainder into roughly 3 equal pieces. Pound the pieces until nicely flattened in order to tenderize and loosen all the good fiber that is going to flavor your stock. Let the lemongrass simmer in the stock for about 10 min and gently remove the pieces.
Next add in both cans of coconut milk, curry paste, fish sauce, soy sauce and lime juice. Stir to combine and lightly season with salt and pepper. At this point I let the broth simmer for a few minutes and add in any additional seasonings that I like (cayenne, turmeric, miso powder etc) whatever you’re feeling, you have some creative freedom here!
Once the broth has simmered for a bit and all the flavors have had a chance to combine, add in your rice noodles and shrimp. Both the noodles and shrimp don’t take long to cook so I give them about 5-6 min to absorb all the flavors of the stock. At this point I would also add in the jalapeno. I like it to soften up a bit from it’s raw crunchy texture, but to not over cook it so it keeps it’s gorgeous bright green color.
Once your shrimp and noodles are cooked, give it a generous stir, add in a bit more salt/ pepper and you’re done! Ladle it into bowls, top generously with fresh cilantro (bean sprouts also add a nice touch texture-wise) and enjoy 🙂
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