Thai Coconut Soup

This soup is AWESOME...maybe one of my favorite soups to date. (And, bore, it's also paleo-friendly, assuming of course, that you have paleo-friendly fish sauce. Red Boat Brand Fish Sauce, found at many Asian grocery stores, is just that!)

INGREDIENTS

- 1 lb. shrimp, shell on

- 1 bone-in chicken thigh (skinless)

- 3 bok choy plants, chopped

- 1/2 lb. shiitake mushrooms, sliced

- 4 cups chicken broth 

- 3 tbsp fish sauce

- 3 (13.5 oz) cans coconut milk

- 1 lemongrass stalk

- 2 tbsp ginger, grated

- 1 tbsp red curry paste

- 1 tbsp. honey

- 2 tbsp lime juice (juice from one whole lime)

- fresh cilantro, chopped

- avocado, sliced

A note about shrimp shells before I start. You will never know me to buy shrimp without shells. I'm an avid believer of using as much of an animal as you can, not just because it makes me feel better (and because I'm frugal), but rather there's usually always a good use for each part of the animal. The shells of shrimp, much like the bones of chicken or beef or pork, have a TON of flavor. And if you want to make a flavor-filled stock and soup, make sure to use shrimp shells! More on how below...

DIRECTIONS

1) Peel the shrimp and set aside the shells. Devein the shrimp and set aside in a small bowl.

2) In a large dutch oven, pour in a little oil and heat to medium high. Place the chicken thigh in the middle of the pot, along with the shrimp shells. 

3) Brown the chicken, while tossing the shrimp shells, which should start to turn pink. Do this for about 4-5 minutes.

4) Chop the top part of the lemongrass stalk off, using the bottom 4-5 inches. Slice the stalk in half, lengthwise.

4) Add the grated ginger, curry paste, and lemongrass stalk and stir so that it covers all the shells and chicken thigh. Sauté until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.

5) Slowly pour in the chicken broth and stir, making sure to get any bits from the bottom of the pan. Heat until boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer this broth for about 20 minutes.

6) Strain the stock so that all the shells are removed. Pour the stock back into the Dutch oven, along with the chicken thigh.

7) Add the coconut milk, fish sauce, honey, sliced mushrooms and simmer for another 15 minutes. Taste the broth and adjust accordingly, remembering that it'll be a bit tart once the lime juice is added.

8) Add the shrimp, bok choy and lime juice.

9) Remove the chicken thigh and cut off the meat, throwing the pieces back into the pot.

9) Serve with freshly chopped cilantro and sliced avocado. (Winner gets the chicken thigh bone!)

Black Bean Soup

Everyone loves Cinco de Mayo, right? Well here's a black bean soup recipe sure to please your palette AND your wallet!

INGREDIENTS:

1 can black beans

1 can Rotel tomatoes (original)

1/3 - 1/2 cup chicken broth

salt to taste

sour cream/lime/cilantro for garnish

(Makes 3-4 servings.)

1) Drain the black beans.

2) In a pot, pour in drained black beans and the can of Rotel (juices included). Add chicken broth.

3) As it's heating, use an immersion blender to blend the soup until a tad chunky, or longer for a smooth consistency, depending on your preference. (I prefer smooth.)

4) Add salt to taste. 

5) Serve with a dallop of sour cream, freshly chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.

Vietnamese Chicken Curry Noodle Soup

I've had curry noodle soup before, but sometimes I find it a tad too heavy. I adjusted a Vietnamese Ca Ri (translation: curry) recipe I found to make the curry soup more brothy and less creamy. It turned out fantastic, with the consistency of the broth more like a traditional ramen broth (heavier than pho, but still perfect for rice noodles) as opposed to a curry dish I would dip french bread in (which tends to be really creamy.) Also, instead of a regular yam, I found some Japanese yams (which are white instead of orange) which are a tad less sweet. (What a great find at the Orient Mart here in Athens on the East Side.)

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons madras curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 2 pounds skinless bone-in chicken thighs (usually 4 thighs)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped shallot
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons ground chili paste or dried chili flakes, or to taste
• 4 tablespoons fish sauce (more to taste)
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 2 lemongrass stalks, cut into 3-inch pieces and bruised with the flat side of a knife
• 1 (2-inch) piece ginger, peeled, cut into 3 slices and bruised with the flat side of a knife
• 3-4 cups fresh chicken stock or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 carrots, peeled, cut on the diagonal into 2/3-inch pieces
• 1 12 oz. unsweetened coconut MILK
• 1 12 oz. can coconut WATER
• 1 yellow onion, cut into wedges
• 1 medium sweet potato (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 cup chopped snow peas
• 1 can baby corn, drained
• 1 package chopped mushrooms
• 15-20 Thai basil leaves
• Chopped cilantro for garnish
• cooked rice (pho) noodles 

Preparation

1. Combine 2 tablespoons of the curry powder and the salt in a bowl. Add the chicken and turn to coat the meat evenly. Set aside for 30 minutes.

2. Heat the oil in a medium pot over moderate heat. Add the shallot, garlic, chili paste and the remaining curry powder, and stir until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add the chicken and cook until the edges of the pieces are golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the fish sauce, sugar, lemongrass, ginger and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer.

3) Add remaining ingredients and cook until the vegetables are tender, about an hour. Taste throughout the hour and add fish sauce/sugar/more basil to taste. 

4) Add some cooked rice noodles to a large bowl, then top with a chicken thigh and broth including veggies. Garnish with cilantro.  

5) Enjoy!

Mexican Chicken Soup

Such an easy recipe...all you need is time to let it simmer. I'm avid believer in cooking with bones whenever you're making a soup. Bone-In chicken thighs are my favorite to use because 1) they're cheap, 2) the meat-to-bone ratio is perfect, 3) dark meat is delicious!

INGREDIENTS

- dash of olive oil

- 4 bone-in chicken thighs

- salt & pepper to taste

- 3 garlic cloves, minced

- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped

- 1 can of Original Rotel Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies

- 1 can sweet kernel corn

- 32 oz. chicken broth

- 1 habanero pepper (IF YOU DARE!)

- heaping tbsp of sugar

- fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish

- like wedges

- fresh avocado slices

1) In a large pot, brown chicken thighs on medium high for two minutes on each side. Remove the thighs and set aside.

2) Toss the minced garlic and chopped onions into the pot. Sauté until the onions are translucent. (Make sure to scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan!!)

3) Add the can of Rotel (juices included) and once again, scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure your deglazing the pot.

4) And chicken broth, the can of corn (again, juices included), and the browned chicken thighs.

5) If you're adventurous, chop a habanero pepper in half and toss it into the pot.

6) Allow to simmer for about 2 hours. During this time, add in the sugar to taste.

7) FIND AND REMOVE THE HABANERO HALVES!

8) Serve the soup with a squeeze of lime, fresh cilantro, and sliced avocado.

Canh (Vietnamese cabbage soup)

Another Vietnamese staple - canh! (And luckily, one of Jonathan's favorites.) Growing up, we'd always have a soup like this, a protein dish, and Jasmine rice

for dinner. This can also be made with other veggies instead of cabbage. I've used cauliflower (one of my FAVES as a kid), chayote squash and watercress in the past. Don't like pork? Ground up or just throw in some whole shrimp instead (or IN ADDITION to pork!)

for meat:

1/3 - 1/2 pound ground pork (I usually take two thin sliced boneless pork chops and grind them in my mini-prep cuisinart)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. sugar

1/8-1/4 tsp. pepper

half head cabbage sliced into small strips

for broth:

4 cups chicken broth

1/2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp. sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

dash of oil

Chopped cilantro and/or fried shallots for garnishing

1) Mix ingredients for ground meat and set aside. (If you're lazy, I sometimes just slice up pieces of pork instead of grinding it.)

2) In medium stock pot, heat oil, garlic and shallot until fragrant.

3) Pour in chicken broth and bring to boil.

4) As you're bringing the broth to a boil, drop in small chunks of pork (about half tsp. size). 

5) Let pork cook in boiling broth for 1-2 minutes.

6) Add sliced cabbage, fish sauce and sugar.

7) Reduce heat to medium, cover pot, and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.

8) Optional: Season/garnish each individual bowl with fresh cracked pepper, chopped cilantro and friend shallots before serving.