Thai Coconut Red Curry Chicken (or Pheasant!) Soup ( Can be altered for Vegetarian)

I have literally been working on this recipe for over 5 years.  It has finally reached perfection and tastes exactly how I have been wanting it to.  It is now ready to share with anybody that is looking for an amazing soup.  It is perfect for the first course of a great Thai meal or even hearty enough for the main course.  The soup has the lovely flavor of lemon from the lemongrass, a touch of lime and cilantro, and a subtle heat in the back of the throat.

 I love Thai food ("Americanized-cooled-down-in-spice Thai food").  I generally like my food pretty spicy, but nothing quite as spicy as what I experienced in Thailand. When DH and I ate there it was a battle of wills.  We were hungry.  We needed to eat, yet the food that we ordered was way too spicy for us to actually eat. It was painful to say the least.   I distinctly remember us with snotty noses and tears running down our face trying to get nourishment and not waste food or money. 

Whenever I cook Thai food I never make it as spicy as authentic Thai food can be nor can I really make it as spicy as I would make if I were making it just for myself (DH doesn't like really spicy food).  This recipe is not too spicy for DH, so if you like spicy food, you may want to add more curry paste than the recipe calls for.  If you don't like a lot of spice, then use the lesser amount listed or cut it even more. From past experience I have learned (unfortunately the hard way) that you can always add more spice later, but you cannot take it out.

I have also made this soup meatless and vegetarian.  It also comes out great.  If making it meatless, add more veggies to replace the chicken.  Zucchini, sugar snap peas, and even beans would be great in this soup.  If making vegetarian, substitute vegetable stock for chicken stock.

When preparing the soup, it is best to have the lemon grass, ginger, garlic, curry paste, stock, fish sauce, and sugar are ready to go, because the first couple of steps go pretty fast. 

Ingredients: 

1 T olive oil
2 stalks of lemon grass, lightly crushed ( I use the flat end of a meat mallet), cut into 2-3 inch pieces
2 T minced fresh ginger
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 T Thai red curry paste
3 c chicken stock, if store bought*(or vegetable if you are making for the vegetarian version)
3 c water
2 T fish sauce
1 T sugar

2 (14 oz) cans unsweetened coconut milk
2 large cooked chicken breasts (boiled), cut into bite size pieces or 1 cooked pheasant (boiled) with meat pulled off and cut into bite size pieces (about 2 cups)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes or 2 c chopped fresh tomatoes
2 c carrots, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 c green beans, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 c sliced mushrooms

3 T lime juice
1/2 c loosely packed chopped cilantro


*If you are using homemade stock (which is less salty than store-bought), use 6 cups of chicken stock and add no additional water.

1. Heat oil in large stockpot over medium heat.  Add the lemon grass, ginger, and garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds.  Add curry paste and cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds more.

2. Add 1 c chicken stock to the pot and stir to dissolve the curry paste.  Add the remaining stock, water (if using), fish sauce, and sugar and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer to blend flavors, about 20 minutes.

3. Stir in the coconut milk, chicken (or pheasant) and other veggies.  Bring back to simmer and cook until the veggies are tender, about 10 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro. Serve immediately.