Thai shrimp soup

Hello March, it is nice to see you! It was also nice to enjoy this warm, flavorful Thai-style soup last week, which helped me get through the end of February. I am ready for spring, so wasn’t sad to say good-bye to February. Though now I kind of hope we get enough snow to break all the records…at least then we would be truly justified in saying that this was “the worst winter evah.”

As I embarked on making this recipe, I should have paid a little more attention to the quantities *before* I got started. I am a leftover-lover but this recipe made so much! I decided to share some with a friend because I wasn’t sure how well coconut milk would freeze. Next time, I will probably just halve the recipe…or perhaps another friend will get lucky with a free meal.

I found that I needed (wanted) to add quite a bit of salt to coax out the flavors, perhaps because I used low-sodium broth. If using low-sodium broth, I’d probably add 1/2 teaspoon of salt at the time of adding the coconut milk and the broth, and then to taste. I would also have added some heat in the form of diced jalapeno or red pepper flakes. Lemongrass would be a nice addition as well.

Step 1: cook shrimp

Thai shrimp soup
Serves: 6
Source: Damn Delicious via Pinterest

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon butter
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 Tablespoons red curry paste

Big pot o’ steamy soup

2 cans unsweetened light coconut milk
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or stock
2 packages ramen noodles, spice packet discarded
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions
1. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add shrimp, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until pink, about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally; set aside. 

Big bowl o’ soup

2. Add garlic, onion, and bell pepper to the pot. Cook until tender, about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in curry paste until well combined, about 1 minute. Gradually stir in coconut milk and vegetable stock, and cook, whisking constantly until incorporated, about 1-2 minutes.

3. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 8-10 minutes.

4. Stir in shrimp, ramen, and lime juice, and cook an additional 3-4 minutes or until noodles are cooked.

5. Top with cilantro for serving and enjoy!