Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

I've been on a little bit of a Thai kick lately. I'm starting to feel like I may as well stock my pantry with cans of coconut milk, red curry paste, and curry powder. It feels like a good time of year for these curries and soups. They can be warm and comforting for Fall, but still reminiscent of summer with the coconut-y goodness and the bright, fresh lime flavors. 

My recipe this week involves a lot of mushrooms, which is another great Fall favorite in soups. And bonus! It's a quick one, especially if you buy the mushrooms pre-sliced. Next week's recipe will also be Thai but no mushrooms involved, for those of you who fear them. :) It's been so nice to get back to cooking after having been laid up for a while and eating mostly freezer foods. Though I will say, it was nice to have a break from my two year old crying at my feet while I prep dinner...

Enjoy!

Thai Coconut Soup

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 1 T vegetable oil
• 2 T peeled, grated ginger (or 1tsp ginger powder)
• 6 tsp Thai red curry paste
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 6 c chicken broth
• 3 T fish sauce or soy sauce
• 1 T light brown sugar
• 2 (14oz) cans coconut milk (the kind you find in the Asian foods aisle. Not the coconut milk in the dairy section, and not canned coconut cream...that will get you SUPER sweet results that we're not looking for here)
• 1 lb chicken breast, sliced in 1 inch strips (or pre-cooked shredded chicken you have on hand)
• 1 lb white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin
• 3-4 T fresh lime juice (I usually more lime rather than less)
• 1/2 c whole cilantro leaves

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium. While oil heats, stir in ginger and curry paste. Mix around a bit and when it starts to sizzle, cook for about 1 minute. Putting the ginger and curry paste in before the oil is completely hot avoids a lot of spattering and spitting of oil and curry paste. If using red pepper flakes, add them now and stir for 15 seconds. 
2. Add 1/2 c broth and stir until the curry paste is dissolved. Then stir in the rest of the broth, fish or soy sauce, and brown sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 min, partially covered. 
3. Stir in the coconut milk, chicken, and mushrooms. Cook on a simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. If you use pre-cooked chicken, you will still allow a simmer for 5 minutes to give mushrooms time to become tender. 
4. Remove the pot from heat. Stir in lime juice to taste, and season with salt. Garnish bowls with cilantro.