Coconut soup is a nice change for a cool day
One of my favourite dishes at Thai and Vietnamese restaurants is coconut soup.
The mixture of coconut milk, broth, seasonings and vegetables is tasty and restorative enough to be a whole meal, yet light enough to serve as a prelude to a main course if you’re really hungry.
I figured out a way to make a similar soup at home with ingredients that are easy to find in your local supermarket.
Thanks to the coconut milk, it’s creamy and rich-tasting without using any dairy or flour. There is freshness from the green herbs and squeeze of lime juice that are added at the last minute
To make the dish more substantial, I added rice noodles. But you can leave them out if you prefer something a little lighter.
I have seen this soup served with cubed tofu or shrimp. You also could add cooked chicken that’s left over from another meal.
If you add tofu or cooked chicken, put it in a few minutes before serving just to heat it through. Shrimp will need to be cooked, but they become tough if cooked for too long. However, their sweet, aromatic flavour is a lovely addition to this soup.
As with many of the soups and stews we feature in this space, you can add ingredients you like and remove those that you don’t like or don’t have. Enjoy this on a cool night.
Coconut soup with shrimp
One tablespoon (15ml) vegetable oil
2 large white or portobello mushrooms, diced
Half a red pepper, diced
2 to 3 plum tomatoes, diced
About three tablespoons (45 mL) of dry white wine
3 cups (750ml) vegetable or chicken or beef broth
Handful of kale or spinach
About 125 mL (half a cup) of frozen corn kernels
Handful of stiff rice noodles
6 to 8 large frozen shrimp, shells on
1 cup (250 mL) coconut milk
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Handful of mixed fresh herbs — cilantro, basil and mint, torn into pieces
Squeeze of fresh lime
Heat a large frying pan on medium and add the oil. Fry the tomatoes, peppers and mushrooms until gently browned. Stir in the wine and let it sizzle until most of the liquid has boiled off.
Add the broth, corn, and kale or spinach. Cook 5 to 10 minutes. Add the rice noodles and the frozen shrimp.
Cover and let pan simmer another five minutes or until noodles are tender and shrimp have changed colour from grey to pink.
Remove pan from the heat and stir in the coconut milk. Season to taste with a few drops of soy sauce and sesame oil. Pour into serving bowls and top with the fresh herbs and squeeze of lime juice.
Makes two main-course size servings.