Cold and flu season has hit our family pretty hard over the past few weeks, and they say nothing cures a cold like chicken soup, right? Well, this is my (somewhat loose) interpretation of a classic chicken soup mixed with one of my favourite dishes – red curry. This sweet and spicy soup gives you a good dose of vegetables and is sure to help clear those sinuses! Red curry paste, frozen corn, and a tin of coconut milk make this a quick, one pot dinner. You know me, I’m always looking for ways to add more vegetables, so I used sweet potato and spinach in this soup, but you can play around with different vegetable combinations or even make it vegetarian by leaving out the chicken.
Kaffir lime leaves are a common ingredient in Thai cooking as well as many other Southeast Asian cuisines. You can find them fresh or frozen in most Asian food stores and I’ve even spotted them at my local chain grocery store. They add a wonderful lime fragrance and they also freeze well, so it’s worth getting your hands on some if you love Thai cooking. If you can’t find them, you could substitute 1/2 teaspoon of fresh lime zest, but the flavour won’t be quite the same.
Hope you are managing to stay healthy!
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- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 inch piece of ginger, sliced into 4 round pieces
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes.
- 1-2 tablespoons of red curry paste, to taste
- 1 14 oz tin of light coconut milk
- 4 cups of water
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 kaffir lime leaves
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 cups of frozen corn kernels
- 4 cups of packed fresh spinach
- 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
- juice of one lime
- salt to taste
- Heat oil over medium-high heat, add onions and cook for 2-3 minutes until translucent.
- Add ginger, sweet potato, and red curry. Start with 1 tablespoon, you can add more later if you want it spicier. Stir until vegetables are evenly coated with the curry paste.
- Next add the coconut milk, water, fish sauce, sugar, salt and kaffir lime leaves. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add chicken and frozen corn, cook for another 10 minutes. Once chicken is cooked and the sweet potatoes are tender, remove the 4 pieces of ginger and kaffir lime leaves.
- Stir in spinach, lime juice, and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning prior to serving.
