Thai Red Curry Coconut Soup with Brown Rice

Brown Rice:

– 1 cup of brown rice
– 2 cups of water
– pinch of salt

Soup Ingredients:

– 2-3 cans of full fat coconut milk (I used three because I like it really creamy)
– 2 cups of veggie broth
– 3 tbsp of coconut oil or olive oil
– 1 white onion
– 1 inch of fresh minced ginger
– 2 tbsp of red curry paste
– 1 bunch of cilantro + roots
– 1 long stalk of lemon grass (cut lengthwise and then cut in half)
– 3-4 lime leaves
– 1 tbsp of soy sauce
– 2-3 tbsp of fish sauce
– zest and juice of 2 limes
– 1 large carrot (thinly sliced)
– 1 head of broccoli
– half a head of cauliflower
– half a red pepper (thinly sliced)
– 3-4 heads of baby bok choy
– ½ cup snow peas
– 1 bunch of fresh mint
– 1-2 red chile peppers

For garnishing – these really finish off the dish, especially the cashews, but are optional.

– extra cilantro
– roasted cashews
– bean sprouts

Directions:

In a small pot add one cup of rice, two cups of water and pinch of salt, bring to a boil then cover and let simmer for 40 minutes.

Mince your onion and ginger; in a large pot on medium heat add the coconut oil then sauté the onion and ginger for 5 minutes. Once browned a little, make a well in the middle of the onion and add in the curry paste, cook for 2-3 minutes.

Next finely chop the cilantro roots (the leaves will go into the soup later) and add about ½ cups worth to the onion and curry paste mixture and sauté for another 3-5 minutes.

Next, add in the coconut milk, veggie broth, lime leaves, fish sauce, soy sauce, lime zest and juice and the lemon grass stalk (beat the stalk with the back of a wooden spoon and then cut length wise, this will help bring out the flavors).

Let the soup stock simmer for about 20-30 minutes (the longer it’s left the more the flavors will come out).

Cut the cauliflower and broccoli into bite size florets, thinly slice the carrot and red pepper and cut the butt end of the bok choy and then any large leaves in half, add to the stalk.

Finely chop the mint and cilantro (about 3 tbsp of each) and add into the stock as well. Simmer until the veggies are tender but still have a crunch (maybe 8-10 minutes). I like to add in the snow peas just before serving (cooking in the broth for only about 2 minutes).

Before serving, remove the lemon grass stalks and lime leaves. Season the soup with a little salt and lime juice as needed. Spoon the soup over the cooked brown rice and garnish with fresh cilantro, mint, roasted cashews and bean sprouts.

From lyndseyeden.com