09/10/2013
Here's my recipe to the Spicy Coconut Soup photo I posted last week. If you comment or share it will post on your timeline so you will have it for later.
Sherrill’s Kick Ass Spicy Coconut Shrimp Soup
Don’t get too hung up on the amounts, if you want to put a whole red pepper, then go for it. If you don’t like snow peas then don’t put them in the soup. If you don’t like shrimp this would be delicious with most any kind of seafood or chicken. We eat pretty low carb but add rice or vermicelli noodles, if you want, for a more robust soup. Use your imagination.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons coconut oil
½ red bell pepper, thinly sliced
½ small yellow onion, thinly sliced
2-3 tablespoons red curry paste
2 (13 ½ oz) cans coconut milk, I like full fat but low fat works too.
1 ½ cups water
1 ½ cups chicken broth
4 stocks of lemon grass, rough chopped and bruised
1 one inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
12 kaffir lime leaves, torn in half….fyi, kaffir lime trees are easy to grow.
½ pound mushrooms, thinly sliced – I use white button mushrooms but I believe it is traditional to us fresh sh*takes, they are just a little too chewy for me.
1/3 pound snow peas, sliced
4-6 green onions, thinly sliced
Combine following 4 ingredients in small bowl:
-2-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1-2 juicy limes, can add more later if you want a more limey flavor
-2 tablespoons brown sugar or some kind of sweetener
-3 tablespoons fish sauce
-2 teaspoons dried pepper flakes (optional)…we love spicy food
2 pounds shrimp, shelled and deveined
Salt and pepper to taste, I add quite a bit of pepper (maybe a teaspoon) and salt to taste
Garnish Ideas:
Fresh cilantro
Fresh mint
Fresh basil
Fresh sliced green onion
Thinly sliced fresh jalapeño
Instructions:
1. In soup pot heat coconut oil and sauté bell pepper, yellow onion and curry paste until tender, remove from pot and set aside.
2. In same soup pot (no need to clean the pot) add coconut milk, water, chicken broth, lemon grass, ginger, and kaffir leaves. Simmer for 10 minutes. (at this time you can continue assembling the soup, however, the longer you let the mixture steep the more intensely the ingredients will infuse the coconut mixture.)
3. Remove lemon grass, ginger and kaffir from the pot. I used a slotted spoon but you can also strain the mixture….but that means another dirty dish! Discard spices.
4. Add mushrooms, snow peas and green onion and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
5. Add raw, cleaned shrimp and the lime mixture. Let simmer until the shrimp are just cooked. Shrimp will cook in about 5 minutes. If you are not ready to serve, turn off the heat before the shrimp are completely cooked, and cover. Avoid over cooking shrimp it makes them chewy!
6. Provide lots of fresh jalapeños and fresh herbs for you soup eaters. Sometimes I will throw a big handful of cilantro into the soup right before serving.
