Sunday's Soup/Easy Thai Shrimp Soup

I absolutely LOVE Thai food, and if you've read more than one recipe I've posted, you know that I also love a spicy dish. Some years ago, my husband and I joined some friends for dinner at a local Thai restaurant. My friend's husband and I both love hot, spicy food. There was a dish that he and I wanted to try, so when the waitress asked if we wanted dish mild, medium, or hot, we both said hot! When the dish arrived, we both dug in...OMG!!!!!, I have never had anything so hot in all my life. I felt it burning in my chest...the next day! Needless to say, I learned my lesson. I still love Thai food, but I now ask for medium and if I would like it a bit hotter, I ask for a little sauce on the side.

I came across THIS recipe for an Easy Thai Shrimp Soup that looked so, so good. It is very good, but a bit spicy. In fact, I made extra rice for my husband in order for him to tone it down a bit.
Here's the recipe;

Easy Thai Shrimp Soup

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked basmati rice
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 tablespoon red curry paste(use only 1 for a less spicy version)
• 2 (12-ounce) cans unsweetened coconut milk
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves(Iused 1/4 cup)

Instructions

• In a large saucepan of 1 1 /2 cups water, cook rice according to package instructions; set aside.
• Melt butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add shrimp, salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pink, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.
• Add garlic, onion and bell pepper to the stockpot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in ginger until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Whisk in curry paste until well combined, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in coconut milk and vegetable stock, and cook, whisking constantly, until incorporated, about 1-2 minutes.
• Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 8-10 minutes.
• Stir in rice, shrimp, lime juice and cilantro.
• Serve immediately.

I followed the recipe as is, except for adding more cilantro and I also had 1/2 of a green bell pepper that I wanted to use, so I added that as well. If you would like a less spicy version, use only 1 tablespoon of the red curry paste. You'll thank me :)

  

If you enjoy Thai food, I highly recommend giving the soup a try. If you would like a vegan version of the soup, use olive oil rather than the butter and tofu rather than the shrimp. You could also use both shrimp and tofu, not vegan, but good. 

If you would like, make a much bigger pot of rice, and serve the soup more as a dish to serve over rice rather than a soup. That's how my husband ate it!
If you give it a try, I hope you like it.
Rhonda