A New Find

I love finding a new recipe that I know right away will become an old favorite. This soup is that good. I had to buy a lot of ingredients to make it and was at first annoyed at how expensive they all were. It was well worth it though because I will be making this soup again and again this winter.

Coconut-Curry Chicken Soup

(From Cooking Light, December 2008)

4 cups water
3 cups fresh spinach leaves
1/2 pound snow peas, trimmed and cut in half crosswise
1 (5 3/4 ounce) package pad thai noodles (rice stick noodles)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 teaspoons red curry paste
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 cups fat free, less-sodium chicken broth

1 (13.5) ounce can light coconut milk

2 1/2 cups shredded chicken breast (about 1 pound)

1/2 cup chopped green onions

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add spinach and snow peas to pan; cook for 30 seconds. Remove vegetables from pan with a slotted spoon; place in large bowl. Add noodles to pan; cook 3 minutes. Drain; add noodles to the spinach mixture in bowl.

Heat canola oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and the next 5 ingredients (through garlic) to pan; saute 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth to the pan, and bring to a boil. Add coconut milk to the pan; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add chicken, sugar, and fish sauce; cook for 2 minutes

Pour chicken mixture over noodle mixture in the bowl. Stir in crushed red pepper and cilantro.

Makes 7 servings
Serving size = 2 cups