Thai Red Curry Soup
Red Thai Curry Soup - this is a warm and tasty soup to dip into all weekend long. It's easy and fast to make with exotic spicy Thai flavors. YUM! | www.lakesidetable.com
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter halved
- 4 cups onions diced
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh lemongrass* white part only
- 2 pounds shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 4 tablespoons red curry paste
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons mirin
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 8 13.6 oz. cans coconut milk full fat, unsweetened
- 1 tablespoon salt
Instructions
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Sweat onions and lemongrass in 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter in a large soup pot over medium low heat.
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Add other 1/2 stick of butter and sliced shiitake mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms release their liquid, about 10 minutes.
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Stir in red curry paste, curry powder, salt and chili flakes and cook for 3 minutes.
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Pour in fish sauce and mirin. Use a wooden spoon to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.
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Stir in entire contents of the cans of coconut milk. Simmer for 30 minutes.
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Taste and add additional curry powder, salt or pepper flakes if needed.
Recipe Notes
*Cooking with Lemongrass: Use the white part near the root. Discard the green leaf part. Pound the whites with a mallet or frying pan and chop into small pieces. After you cook it with the onions, taste them. If they're not soft and they're like eating wood chips, DON'T PANIC! After adding the coconut milk, simmer the soup for at least an hour, strain the soup, then add the mushrooms. If you use dried lemongrass from the get go, tie it into a cheese cloth "purse" with kitchen twine. You'll get all the flavor this way without having to strain the soup.
Variations:
- Red Curry Chicken and Rice - add 1/2 cup cooked chicken to 1 cup soup and pour over a generous helping of rice.
- Add ins - not only is chicken a tasty addition, but so are scallops, shrimp, any firm white fish like cod or halibut, pork and beef.
- Veggie add ins - soften diced carrots with the onions or simmer peas and broccoli for the last 1/2 hour before serving.
- Vegetarian - serve soup over soba or rice noodles.
- Toppings - cilantro, lime, red bell peppers, bean sprouts and/or scallions.