Thai Green Curry Coconut Noodle Soup

Fast and packed with flavorful, bright ingredients

I have one problem with soups: some just aren't filling enough. Take my French Shallot and Cream of Mushroom soups from earlier this week. As delicious as they are, I would definitely add a protein to make it a meal or make them for an appetizer.

This soup is NOT that. With chicken and my favorite, rice noodles, this soup is bright, filling and packs a punch of flavor.

"If you don't have fish sauce in your pantry, put it on the grocery list ASAP." - ME

The key ingredient here is green curry paste. I bought mine from my local Asian grocery store. (If you live in Baton Rouge, I love Asian Market on Perkins Road and Asian Supermarket.) This curry paste is all you really NEED to make this soup, but adding in extras like fresh ginger, lemon grass, herbs and lime juice takes it to the next level. WIth that being said, you can totally leave one out -- like the lemongrass, if you can't find it -- and still have a delicious soup. You also can find these pastes in variety of spice levels, so choose one that works for you.

A few other standout ingredients in this soup are fish sauce and coconut milk. I add fish sauce to so many things. It brings a level of flavor that is very hard to find in "substitute" ingredients. For coconut milk, use something with plenty of the cream left in it, like a full-fat can of milk. Coconut milk often served in cartons for coffees and similar uses is missing a lot of that creamy coconut flavor that makes this dish so comforting.

THAI GREEN CURRY COCONUT NOODLE SOUP (makes about four servings)

Ingredients (about 4 servings)

As always, feel free to mix it up and cook with your heart!

• 2-4 tablespoons of Green Curry Paste

• 2 teaspoons of chopped lemon grass

• 1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk

• 1-inch of grated ginger

• zest of half a lime

• juice of half a lime

• 2 cloves of grated garlic

• 1/2 of an onion, sliced

• 1/2 of a red bell pepper, sliced

• 3-4 chicken boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

• 4 cups of chicken stock

• fish sauce, to taste

• 7 oz of rice noodles, cooked to package instructions (half of a 14 oz pack)

• cilantro, to taste

• basil to, taste

Directions

1. Thinly slice half of an onion and half of a red bell pepper. Grate garlic and ginger if using fresh. Chop lemongrass, if using fresh. (I could only find frozen.) Cut chicken (or protein of choice) into bite-sized pieces.

2. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a pot and cook the protein on medium-high heat. Once fully cooked, remove with a slotted spoon.

3. Add more oil to the pot, if needed. Saute curry paste, lemongrass, grated ginger and garlic until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.

4. Add in onions and peppers and saute for about 5 minutes.

5. Add in 4 cups of chicken stock, 1 can of coconut milk, juice from half of a lime, and fish sauce to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, cook the rice noodles to package instructions in a separate pot.

7. Add in cooked rice noodles and fresh herbs, like cilantro and basil, along with your cooked protein.

Check out the rest of my fall soups from this week:

Creamy Chicken Italian Sausage and Gnocchi Soup

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

French Shallot Soup

Did you make this? Let me know how it turned out in the comments!