Curry Soup

Strangely, my cafeteria at work made a pretty kick ass chicken and curried vegetable soup yesterday with lentils and yumbombs.  It was really good and I was hoping to find a similar recipe online, though I'm sure I could give it a go myself at recreating it.  (it was basically chicken and veggies and curry - ta da!  recipe done)
A peek at the interwebs brought up this intriguing recipe though, and I definitely want to give it a whirl.  See, one of the dishes I dream about is the red curry mussels at Fog City Diner.  The only problem with this, is that I don't like mussels.  I can't order a plate of mussels just so I can eat the broth - that would be stupid.  And I can't always drag Andrea with me to eat the mussels and not share any of the broth with her - that would be mean.
So maybe, JUST MAYBE this soup could do for me, just a little, of what the broth does.  And PERHAPS I can live without the crusty sourdough, but I make no promises.

Bon Appetit tells me that this recipe is from Aruns in Chicago, where owner and chef Arun Sampanthavivat has come up with this fresh take on a traditional Thai recipe.

Thai Red Curry Soup 

2 tablespoons corn oil

1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste

12 ounces skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips

4 ounces green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths

2 small Japanese eggplants, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 cups canned low-salt chicken broth

3 cups canned unsweetened coconut milk

1 tablespoon fish sauce (nam pla)

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add curry paste; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chicken; stir 2 minutes. Add green beans and eggplant pieces; stir 1 minute. Add broth, coconut milk and fish sauce; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in basil and serve.

Asiany shrimps and stuff

I have been daydreaming about shrimp ever since I had these yummy chili garlic prawns at Fog Harbor Fish House down at the wharf. It made me think of how much I loved the red curry mussels at Fog City Diner that I was lucky enough to share with four of my favorite people. Fair enough, I didn't love the mussels but I loved the broth they came in. I'd happily put that with shrimp. Or chicken. Or beef. Or pork. Or cardboard. With lots and lots of fresh crusty sourdough.
What is with me and seafood at Fog named restaurants?

Chili Garlic Prawns
1 kg fresh large prawns
1 small onion, 10 garlic cloves, 1 inch piece of ginger - pureed in a blender
1 tsp red chilli paste or green chilli paste or red chilli powder
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c oil

Shell, devein, clean and butterfly the prawns with tails left on.

Mix the remaining ingredients together and marinate the prawns in this mixture, covered in the fridge, for 1-2 hours.

Grill till prawns are cooked, brushing with marinade and turning twice. Do not overcook the prawns as they will get tough. It is better to rather slightly undercook them.

This is not nearly as brothy/saucy as at Fog Harbor. I recommend setting some of the marinade aside to use to make sauce. Maybe cooked down with some broth/stock, oil, coconut milk perhaps. Yum.

Red Curry Mussel Stew

serves 6
4 dozen PEI mussels or any small black mussels (about 2 1/2 pounds)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp peeled & grated ginger
1/4 c peeled and diced tomato
1 tbsp Red Curry paste
4 c canned coconut milk
1 tbs chopped cilantro
6 sprigs cilantro for garnish
Tons of warm sourdough for sopping up the broth.

Scrub the mussels well and trim off the beards. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and saute the garlic, ginger, and tomato for 2 minutes. Add the curry paste and coconut milk, stirring until the paste dissolves. Add the mussels, cover, and steam until open, about 3-6 minutes (discard any mussels that do not open). Add the chopped cilantro; divide the mussels and broth between the bowls and garnish with sprigs of cilantro. Serve with sourdough.
Die in red curry mussel ecstasy.

OR do the same thing with prawns that you've quickly sauteed to cook them until JUST done, and then put them into the broth and allow to heat through.

Now I think I need to invite those four favorite people over and surprise them with this dish. Of course I'll use the light coconut milk, whatever that means, but I try.