Sweet coconut and lime make this soup amazingly good. You can add shrimp if you’d like to make to add protein and make this a main course, but honestly I like it better without. As grocery stores are now stocking more and more ethnic and exotic foods, you should be able to find all the ingredients for this recipe at your local supermarket. If you can’t, find an Asian grocer, you won’t be disappointed.
Did you know: Coconuts are actually seeds and the largest ones at that. They feed a third of the world’s population and are a great source of good fats. Coconut oil was used instead of vegetable oil for years until soybean oil became popular in the sixties. Coconut is very versatile and is used in both sweet and savory dishes.
Ingredients:
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 stalk lemon grass, minced
2 tbsp red curry paste
4 cups vegetable broth
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp light brown sugar
3 (13.5 ounce) cans coconut milk
1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
Salt to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Directions:
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir the ginger, lemongrass, and curry paste in the heated oil for 1 minute. Slowly pour the vegetable broth over the mixture, stirring continually. Stir in the fish sauce and brown sugar; simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk and mushrooms; cook and stir until the mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp; cook until no longer translucent about 5 minutes. Stir in the lime juice; season with salt; garnish with cilantro.
(makes 6 servings)
