Thai Curry Soup
A break from being wordless for some soup, because I said so. We’re having slightly lower temperatures, soup is the only thing Will seems to be able to eat lately, and I just got a crazzzy load of veggies from the CSA I just signed up for. I’ve made this soup a lot lately with varying ingredients, as that’s the beauty of it (and most soups), and they’re all amazing. I started with Heidi Swanson’s Big Curry Noodle Pot recipe from Super Natural Cooking and have experimented from there, and this is my final recipe that I usually use now. It’s pretty similar to Heidi’s, just more brothy as we realized that was our favorite part. The broth, oh, the broth. Plus I load mine with way more stuff.
Thai Curry Soup
makes 2-4 servings
The broth:
1/2 of a yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp oil or butter
3 tsp red curry paste
1/2 can coconut milk
3 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 tsp ground turmeric (note: I just use curry powder as it has turmeric in it and dang, spices are expensive and I may as well use this up.)
1/2 tsp ground ginger or fresh minced
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
juice of 1/2 a lime or whole, taste test how you like it.
The guts of the soup, optional ideas:
Udon or rice noodles – 4 – 6 oz or so (I guess this stuff, guys)
broccoli or broccolini
carrots
spinach
various chards
green onions
peppers
chicken
shrimp
tofu
optional garnishes:
toasted cashews
toasted peanuts
cilantro, chopped
shallots, slivered
red pepper flakes
Let’s get started. Heat oil or butter over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent and soft, but not brown. If you’re using fresh ginger, add now and cook for a minute. Add curry paste and stir/mash it up until its evenly incorporated and fragrant. Add coconut milk, broth, turmeric, soy sauce and sugar. Stir for a minute and then add your veggies. If you’re using spinach and/or green onions, wait until the other fillings have cooked as they only take a minute or two to cook. Simmer until cooked, then add your protein and noodles, if using. Carefully fold ingredients and cook for a minute or two longer. Add lime juice to taste and red pepper flakes if you want it to be hotter. Dish up and garnish!
Proof of aforementioned crazzzy load of veggies from the CSA I just signed up for. They gave me extra and I was like, whoooa, please stop I won’t eat all of this!
October 26th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
I’ve never heard of the CSA program but thank you so much for informing me about it! I live in the City of Orange, and I’m seriously considering signing up, although I too would worry about not being able to use all the produce that they give me! The level of creativity it would take to use all those vegetables every week deserves some praise! I wish there was a way to bring this program closer to me in OC, at least to a couple pick-up locations in South LA? Whittier, Downey? :(
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October 26th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Hey Melissa, like I said I only get it once every other week and they gave me extra, so it wouldn’t be this much every single week, thankfully! But just google to see if there’s a CSA near you as this is not the only one in Southern California. They’re quite popular.
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October 26th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
hohmygawd I can’t wait to make this! For people who are such Thai-enthusiasts Chris and I only ever got so-so at making Thai curries and whatnot. I think the broth is probably what’s key here – we only ever used coconut milk as a base but our favorite Thai dish is quite brothy, so I don’t know why we never thought to do that.
Also, signing up for a CSA has been one of those things I’ve been meaning to do for way too long now… Like, YEARS. This winter, I promise, I’m finally going to look for the right one and get on a waiting list!
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October 26th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
Fantastic! Well done you!
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October 26th, 2011 at 4:47 pm
It’s soup month over at TheKitchn. All kinds of soups. It makes me want to eat 50 bowls per day. You should check it out: http://www.thekitchn.com/
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October 26th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
mmm, that sounds delicious! i think fall/winter is the perfect time to experiment with soups, and i really need to start making my own broths since it’s so easy it’s silly not to (i’m told!). this one sounds like a lovely start. :)
also, i’m mega-jealous of your persimmons there. dang. i love that fruit!
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October 26th, 2011 at 8:43 pm
Awesome! I would like to know what you do with those persimmons…please share if you can! Take good care of yourself, and Will.
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October 26th, 2011 at 11:30 pm
YES! my favourite soup of all time. i make this too often. also i’m really sad that summer is coming to us because that means less soups.
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October 27th, 2011 at 1:30 am
YUM!!!!!!!!!!!! x
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October 27th, 2011 at 2:23 am
good on you lady! Those veg will get both of you tip top before you can say Jack Robinson! Food is the key to staying on top of chemo… esp broccolli xoxo
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October 27th, 2011 at 5:55 am
I am so glad I found your blog through Nicole.
This sounds absolutely delicious!
And wow, swooning over your shop items!
Cheers,
Anna
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October 27th, 2011 at 8:59 am
YUMMM. My stomach just growled and now I will be thinking of curry and coconut for the rest of the day…
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October 27th, 2011 at 11:26 am
Yum! I can’t wait to cook this soup!
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October 27th, 2011 at 1:32 pm
If you find that you aren’t using all your veggies, look into ways to preserve them. The cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and swiss chard can all be blanched and frozen for later use! It’s a huge help for not letting stuff go to waste when our CSA overloads us in the summer.
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October 27th, 2011 at 3:30 pm
i just made this soup and it was so delicious and my house smells amazing! thank you so much for this recipe, i’m going to make it again as soon as this batch runs out!! :)
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October 27th, 2011 at 9:40 pm
Yay! got the supplies tonight to make this on the weekend. can’t wait!
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October 30th, 2011 at 6:43 am
We had a persimmon tree when I was growing up. My mom would take super ripe persimmons and throw them in the blender along with vanilla ice cream, and blend until smooth and thick. This would be our dessert. I don’t know if she added any spices, like nutmeg and cinnamon, but I imagine those might be good.
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October 30th, 2011 at 6:52 am
PS–Mom would always add a small dollop of vanilla ice cream in the middle of the bowl when she served this to us.
I haven’t had this in decades. We had unsophisticated taste buds back then, so I don’t know how much I would enjoy this now, but I loved it as a child.
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October 30th, 2011 at 8:51 am
[...] it getting cold wherever you live? Channel your inner Martha Stewart with this Thai Curry soup- I think I want to make this very [...]
October 30th, 2011 at 9:50 am
Lovely blog! I’m gonna follow you now daily! :-) Keep going! ;-)
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November 7th, 2011 at 9:54 pm
SOUP ENVY!!!!
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December 27th, 2011 at 9:31 am
[...] love this recipe! If you plan the soup for multiple meals, make sure to get an extra box of chicken stock, because [...]
February 12th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
I just tried this curry soup and awesome is the word, so awesome that i was requested to make a second batch full for dinner. This is the first time i ever used curry, and theres no stopping me now….
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April 16th, 2012 at 8:27 pm
I made this last night, and it was really good. I put in a couple spoonfuls more curry paste because I like it flavorful. I didn’t include any meat or seafood; just veggies. The veggies I used were red pepper, jalapeño, mushrooms, and spinach. I also added some cracks of black pepper. The jalapeños really added a lot of heat. I’d definitely make this recipe again. Thanks for the help.
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