Mike has a cold, so I wanted to make soup for dinner. Something spicy with ginger. He also had a conference call at 6:00 and wanted to eat before rather than after, so it had to be something that could come together quickly.
This soup is inspired by Thai flavors (I was thinking about Tom yum and Tom kha gai), but it’s also heavily influenced by what I could easily grab at the grocery store. ;)
Coconut Hot and Sour Soup
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 knob of ginger, minced
- 2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce
- small glug of vegetable oil
- 2 14-ounce cans of coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- juice of 5 small limes
- 1/2 cup white rice
- 2 cups chopped bell pepper
- 1 14-ounce can of straw mushrooms, drained and rinsed
- 1 14-ounce can of baby corn, drained, rinsed and chopped
- 1/4 cup frozen edamame
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Heat the garlic, ginger, and chili paste for about half a minute, until fragrant.
- Add the coconut milk, water, and lime juice.
- Add in the rice. Bring mixture to a simmer. Allow to cook for about 10 minutes.
- Add the remaining vegetables. Allow to cook for another 5 minutes or so until heated through and the rice is finished. Serve.
Serves 5-6
I didn’t really plan to make this recipe into a post until I was halfway through making the recipe so I apologize for the shady measuring. The knob of ginger I used was about 3 inches by 1 inch.
I would have liked more edamame, but my memory of what I had did not match up with the 1/4 cup that I actually had sitting in the freezer. (I hate when that happens.)
I added a bit more heat by drizzling chili oil over the soup before serving.
This ended up being fairly hearty, which is what Mike likes. More water could be added to thin the soup out a bit. (Some water might need to added when reheating the soup because the rice will absorb some of the liquid.)
Oh my goodness, I’ve GOT to try this recipe soon. Iris (my wife) and I absolutely LOVE Thai food, especially coconut soup. It looks SO easy to make! Looks like I may have to go back to the store this afternoon. We hit 30º this morning, so I’m making turkey-chili with fresh ground peppers. Do you have a recipe for a yummy meat-free chili? Tis the season. Thanks for this soup recipe. I’ll report back on how ours turns out. ~ Les
Thanks, I really liked the way this turned out. I really like the coconut and lime together.
I actually don’t have a meat-free chili. It’s long been on my list of things to make but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.
Okay. This soup was great. I made a few minor changes, but it was basically the same. For one, I added a can of (drained) water chestnuts. I’m pretty sure it’s illegalto use bamboo shoots, straw mushrooms and baby corn and exclude water chestnuts, so in they went. They added yet another fun texture. Crunchy and firm. I also finely diced up a jalapeno pepper. I didn’t measure out two cups of diced bell peppers, I used one large green bell pepper and one large red one. That seemed about right. I also bumped up the edamame to a full cup, making it a bit more hearty. I used 3/4 of a cup of orzo (warning: contains glutton) instead of rice because that’s what I had on hand. Even though I used “small” limes, they were super juicy. As I totally love lime, I used the juice of 6 instead of 5. Big mistake! I added a full cup of lime juice, and it wound up overpowering the delicate coconut. In the future I will start with the juice of 2 limes and see where I stand. Even after adding an additional can of coconut milk, I still wound up with a face twister. My wife enjoyed the soup more the second day, having it cold and said that it toned down the lime too. At least I know for next time. Even using the Sarachi garlic/chili sauce, I wish I had hot oil in the house to add a little more heat. A bit more Sarachi in my bowl worked for me.
Thanks again, Kalinda, for a delicious soup! Here in Oklahoma we’ve dropped into the 20’s and 30’s temperature range, so next it’s going to be time for a curry. Have any great curry recipes to share? Bye for now. ~ Les
For whatever reason the limes from our grocery store are always small and not very juicy. Adding the lime juice in bit by bit seems like good idea. Glad the soup ended up working in the way.
For Les, here’s our “fast-food” curry lunch. Probably not exactly what you meant, but oh, it’s great when the hungries are so bad you need something NOW.
One pkg West-pac Quick-&-Easy frozen Rice Stir Fry (already has veggies in it)
One can mandarin oranges plus the juice from the can
Stir-fry the rice & vegetables and oranges together.
Add your favorite curry powder as you stir.
I like the Penzey’s Maharajah Curry or their Hot Curry.
Just before serving, stir in or top with shaved Parmesan.
(serves two rather generously)
That’s a clever idea! I haven’t thought of any soup with both coconut milk and rice in it. Usually we put curry soup on top of rice.
Another fast way to prepare quick curry dish is using Roi Thai brand seasoned coconut milk. They come in several types of curry soup, such as Massaman curry and Green curry soup. You just add fresh vegetables and any fresh ingredients you like.
@ Debbi ~
Sorry I never responded to you. I’ll blame that on getting caught up in the hecticness (sorry, WordPress, but that IS a word!) of the holiday season. I am a big fan of Penzey’s spices too, favoring their Hot Curry over their Sweet Curry. I have not tried the Maharajah Curry. I usually mix my own. (When I have the time.) I’ll be picking up the ingredients you mentioned soon, and give them a whirl. Thanks! Bon appétit. ~ Les
I made this tonight and it was AWESOME. I used a bag of frozen Asian veggies, plus a chopped yellow pepper and a tomato. I had a bottle of lime juice, so I guessed on the measurement. 1/2 cup seemed to be about perfect. Yum yum yum! I am definitely making this again.
Nice, I love success stories. I myself am not much of a tomato fan, but it a nice addition. And thanks for the measurement on the lime juice.
the flavor of this looks out this world! I am impressed you just flew from the hip…a sign of culinary genius! (;
Ha, I’m not sure I’ll ever be on the culinary genius level.
I have to try this! Your recipes are so unique and look amazing!
This was super yummy. I served it with crunchy tofu for very satisfying dinner. The juice of my one, large, juicy lime was perfect.
Crunchy tofu sounds delicious! And yes, those poor limes I had were just not juicy.