I must say I hope everybody had just as gorgeous of a weekend as Maryland did. We were blessed with sunshine and 60 degrees, just in time for my three-day sinus infection to ware off. I felt much better yesterday and therefore had a Sunday fun-day outdoors. Although I ditched the tissues and Tylenol, I don’t think my body was prepared for so much running around – which it’s in for a surprise since I joined a football league that starts in 20 days…who am I anymore? Football?
Anyways, I’m a big believer in super foods. Certain natural and healthful foods are great aids in some illnesses, especially common colds and sinus infections. Just to be sure I kicked this year’s cold to the curb, I wanted to finish off the weekend with something filled with nutrients, flavor, and a little heat. Might as well use up the rest of these tissues with something spicy right?
I’ve had this soup in the back of mind for a while now. I was initially inspired by Noodles & Company’s Thai Curry Soup, which is spinach, mushrooms, cabbage, tomato, rice noodles, and other yums drenched in a delicious yellow coconut broth. Although I filled mine quite differently, they both have one thing in common: deliciousness.
This is one of those forget-the-spoon-drink-from-the-bowl kinda soups. I savored every last drop, and since this is a guilt-free curry, I was first in line for seconds.
I started the soup off with a combination of aromatic vegetables: lemongrass, ginger, garlic, and scallion. I cooked those before adding thinly sliced carrots and red peppers, then cooked those before adding Thai Kitchen’s red curry paste. Finished it with light coconut milk, a minimal amount of water, more lemongrass and eventually some shrimp.
The first thing I did was prepare my vegetables. I minced the garlic, ginger, and white part of the scallion. I’ve mentioned in a few posts the easiest way to mince ginger is to gently peel back the outside fiber with a spoon, then zest away the inner root. If you have time, knock out the entire root while you’re at it and freeze!
The lemongrass is essential in this dish. If you’ve never worked with lemongrass, don’t sweat! It’s very similar to a scallion, except we only use the lower stem. It’s a tropical grass with a strong lemon aroma used often in Thai cuisine. Almost every time I’ve seen lemongrass at the supermarket, the stem is already removed and packaged near the fresh herbs. The only work to do is remove any outer dis-colored or loose layers and chop it up! The easiest way to mince lemongrass is so smash the entire stalk one-or-two times with your knife, then mince. I only minced about 1″ of the stalk, and used the rest to simmer in the soup. If you’re using lemongrass in a soup, always smash the stalk to release the aromatic insides from the walls.
After the aromatics are cooked up, the carrot and red pepper only take a few minutes. I added the paste before the milk to cook it out for a little. Often times when I’m using any paste (curry, red pepper, or tomato) I like to cook it out before adding any liquid. For this soup I used light coconut milk. It has less than half of the calories and fat than regular coconut milk, making this a much healthier option. However, since it is much lighter, it’s less creamier (boo!). I separately cooked Jasmine rice to add some depth, but you can easily use Japanese rice noodles or some cream.
I definitely recommend adding shrimp to this soup – it just makes it that much better. I garnished mine with cilantro and the green part of the scallion. The only time I salted this was when cooking the aromatics, other than that I let the vegetables flavor the dish AND OH BOY THEY DID A GOOD JOB.
- 1 inch ginger root - peeled, minced
- 2 garlic cloves - minced
- 1 scallion
- 1 lemongrass stalk
- 1 T. canola oil
- 1 red pepper - thinly sliced
- 2 large carrots - peeled, sliced thin
- 2 cups zucchini noodles (about 4-6 zucchinis)
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 2 16 oz. can coconut milk
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled
- 1 lime
- salt and pepper to taste.
- optional garnish: cilantro, jalapeno
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic, ginger, white part of the scallion, and crushed lemongrass stalk. Cook 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the carrot, red pepper, and zucchini and cook 2 more minutes until tender. Add the red curry paste, stir to combine, and let it cook out for one minute. Stir frequently to prevent the paste from burning.
- Add the coconut milk and stir to combine. If it's too thick, add 1/4 cup of water until desired consistency achieved. Bring to a simmer.
- Season the shrimp with salt and pepper, then transfer to the soup. Cook 5-7 minutes until fully cooked through.
- Remove lemongrass stalk and squeeze in the juice of half a lime. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Garnish with green scallion, cilantro, and jalapeno slices if desired.
- If you are not doing Whole30, sub the zucchini noodles with rice noodles or rice.
