Thai Red Curry Coconut Soup

I looooove a good Thai soup and I always thought it was complicated to make but low and behold, it is not. It does have a lot of ingredients but in my opinion they are all a must, that is what gives it that beautiful depth of flavour.

YIELD 4-6 bowls

4 1/2 cups chicken broth 
1 can coconut milk (full fat)
4 tablespoons red *Thai curry paste
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon tamari (Light and gluten free)
1 tablespoon ginger (minced)
1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
2 Thai chili fresh (optional)
1 tablespoon honey
3” piece lemongrass (sliced in half)
2 cups shiitake mushrooms (sliced)
1 cup organic firm tofu (diced)
3 cups baby bok Choy (sliced)
1 cup onion (sliced)
1 lb or 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (sliced into 3-4 slices)
1-2 lime for juice (extra for serving)
¼ cup fresh cilantro (roughly chopped)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
Ramen noodles

Method
Cut the chicken thighs into 3-4 pieces and toss with ½ teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon of the Thai red curry paste and set aside.
In a large soup pot, melt the coconut oil and add the onion, sauté the onion until soft.
Add the chicken and brown for 2-3 minutes
Add the garlic, ginger, lemongrass, shiitake and the remainder of the Thai red chili paste. Sauté for a couple of minutes
Add the broth, coconut milk, honey, sesame oil and tamari.
Simmer for 25-30 minutes covered
Remove the lid and take it off the heat. Add the tofu, bok choy, lime juice and cilantro. 
Serve immediately over cooked ramen noodles and extra lime wedges
I love to pour my soup over cooked  millet/brown rice Ramen noodles. You can add whatever vegetables or protein you would like to this, I just wanted to make it as simple as possible. 

*I use Thai Kitchen Brand for my curry paste





Thai Red Curry Coconut Soup

Tahini and Honey Kale Salad

This baby was created on a rainy day while in the lab. Having all of these ingredients I started to think about what they want to turn themselves into and this is what happened!

Salad
3-4 cups black kale (Chiffonade slice) 
2 cups curly parsley (chopped)
1 cup shiitake mushrooms
1 tablespoon sesame oil
½ tablespoon olive oil
1-2  teaspoons sesame seeds

Tahini and Honey Dressing
¼ cup tahini
2 teaspoons garlic or 2 medium size cloves
2 tablespoons roasted sesame oil
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons raw honey
⅓ cup water
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup rice wine vinegar

Method
Clean and de-stem the kale and thinly slice it (this is called chiffonade), add it to a large bowl. Clean and de-stem the parsley and chop, add it to the large bowl with the kale. In a small sautée pan add the olive oil and sesame oil from the salad ingredients. Slice the cleaned shiitake mushrooms in half and add them to the pan. Sprinkle with salt and sautée until tender. This should take about 5 minutes, remove from heat and allow it to cool.

Meanwhile, add all of the ingredients for the tahini honey dressing to a medium sized mason jar and use a hand blender to combine ingredients or use a blender. Toss the kale and parsley with as much dressing as you would like ( use your hands to get the dressing nice and snug into the kale and parsley.)  Place the shiitake mushrooms over the salad and sprinkle with sesame seeds.




Tahini and Honey Kale salad.jpeg