I don’t always eat Italian food. In fact, when I’m cooking at home for myself and Domenico, I cook a lot of food inspired by my cupboard full of ingredients from Asia and the Middle East. Last night I made a soup that was more or less a version of Thai coconut curry soup, which Sophie makes all the time. So this is basically her recipe, if you can even call it a recipe. Truly, once you have the basics down, you can spin it any way you want.
The two main ingredients that are non-negotiable are:
-Coconut Milk
-Thai Curry Paste
If you’ve never used Thai Curry Paste, it a pre-made mix of spices including hot peppers, coriander, cumin, cardamom , lemon grass, garlic and galangal. It usually comes in three varieties: Red, Yellow and Green. They vary slightly from color to color and brand to brand, but you can try them and see which you like best. I tend to like the slightly milder green, but all I had last night was the red which I also love, even if it’s a bit spicier.
Although I used some frozen vegetable broth I had in the freezer, you can also use just water.
Vegetables: Any will do! This is the time to use up that half a red pepper you kept, or that one lonely zucchini. I happened to have a bit of red cabbage so used that.
Starch: I used rice noodles last night, but leftover rice will do or even regular spaghetti.
Meat or fish: Although not at all necessary, I do like adding just a bit of meat or fish. Last night I had some leftover barbecued ribs so ended up with a half cup of cooked pork. This is the perfect place to use the rest of that rotisserie chicken. Or if you have frozen shrimp in the freezer you can pop those in frozen and they will cook in a few minutes. Also good? Ham or even a fried egg at the end.
I’m sure my mother would call this ‘clean out the fridge soup’ but since my mother would never had Thai Curry Paste or Coconut milk in her pantry, let’s just stick with Thai Curry Coconut Soup and pretend we actually had a plan.
Thai Coconut Curry Soup
Yield 2
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons oil (I use olive oil, because it’s what I have, but peanut or corn oil is fine)
- 1 medium onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon of Thai Curry Paste (or more to taste, it’s usually spicy so taste it first)
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
- 2 cups vegetable broth or water
- 1 can full fat unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
- 1/2 cup shredded cooked pork (or any other meat or fish)
- 3 cups cooked rice noodles
- 2 chopped scallions
- fresh lemon juice to taste
- Parsley or Coriander (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in pan and add the onion and ginger and salt. Cook over medium heat until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and Curry Paste. Stir and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add all of the vegetables and stir well. Let cook another 5 minutes then add the broth or water, the coconut milk , meat and the fish sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8 minutes.
- To serve:Divide the noodles into two large bowls. Ladle the soup on top of the noodles. Top with scallion and squeeze lemon juice over to taste. Parsley or coriander is nice if you have it (I didn’t ) If you like it spicy add hot sauce of your choice.
This looks delicious! I love soups that are full of flavor like this one! I’ll have to try the recipe soon!