Coconut Thai Soup
Ingredients
- 2 14-ounces cans premium coconut milk
- 1 heaping tbsp. Thai curry paste
- Tender stems of 1 bunch cilantro, rinsed well
- 2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 carrot, peeled and shredded
- 4 or 5 lime leaves (see notes for a substitute)
- 2 stalks lemongrass, halved lengthwise, woody leaves removed
- 2 tbsp. fish sauce
- Zest and juice of 2 limes
- Small knob frozen ginger
- Handful bean sprouts
- 1 8-ounce package rice noodles
- 1 bunch of cilantro leaves, rinsed well
- 2 or 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- Sprinkle or two salt or soy sauce
Instructions
- Into a large stockpot, set over a medium-high heat, scoop the thick coconut cream from the top of just one of the cans.
- Melt the cream, add the curry paste and stir for a few minutes until they begin to sizzle.
- Add the cilantro roots and chicken; sauté until the chicken is cooked through; about 5 minutes.
- Add the coconut juice from the first can, all the contents of the second can along with the chicken broth, carrot, lime leaves, lemon grass, fish sauce, lime zest and juice.
- Using a microplane grater or standard box grater, grate the frozen ginger into the broth; simmer for 20 minutes or so.
- Stir in the bean sprouts; add the rice noodles, gently pushing them beneath the surface of the broth.
- Turn off the heat and let stand until the noodles soften; about 5 minutes; rice noodles don’t need to simmer like pasta to cook; they simply need to rehydrate in the hot liquid.
- Stir in most of the cilantro leaves; remove the lemongrass stalks.
- Taste and season with a touch more salt or soy sauce, as needed.
- Ladle into large bowls and garnish with the green onions and remaining cilantro leaves.
Notes
Thai curry pastes get their heat from chili peppers, but they’re also loaded with other flavours; use as much or as little depending on preference; yellow is the mildest; green the hottest.
Try stirring in a head of chopped Asian greens or baby spinach with the bean sprouts.
Easily substitute beef or shrimp for the chicken.
Substitutes for lime leaves:
1. Lime Zest:
While the fragrance isn’t as intense and complex, lime zest is the closest common ingredient to lime leaves; substitute about 1/4 teaspoon lime zest for 2 lime leaves.
2. Lemon Zest:
As with lime zest, lemon won’t be as intense but it will give some fragrance to the dish, so a better choice than just leaving the lime leaves out; start with substituting 1/4 teaspoon zest for each 2 leaves.
3. Basil, Mint or Cilantro:
Another option is to skip the lime leaves but serve your finished dish with extra fresh herbs like basil, mint or cilantro; Thai basil, if available, is even better; again the flavor will be different but the extra aromatics from the herbs will help to not miss the lime leaves.
4. Preserved Lemon:
This is a bit left-field, but the Moroccan preserved lemons do have a fragrance that is vaguely similar to lime leaves; preserved lemons are a lot more salty though, so be prepared to use less seasoning; start with 1/4 teaspoon chopped preserved lemon for each stalk lime leaf.
5. Leave it out:
If there are a lot of other highly flavored ingredients in your recipe, like is often the case in Thai cooking, omitting the leaves will be fine.