Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Bonus Holiday Recipe: Spicy Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup

Can't remember if I posted this one before or not, but hey, here it is again :-)

And of course, as with all my recipes, there's a story behind this. Half my family is Laotian. Why, you ask...because my parents are giving people. My Dad, who served in Vietnam, always wanted to give back--and so, when I was 11, my family sponsored a Laotian family of three. Over the course of my life, my parents sponsored more than 30 Laotians into this country, and many of them have become part of my extended family. My brother's mother (long story :-) has been teaching me a few Laotian and Thai dishes. While I'm no chef, believe me, this is one of my favorites for the holidays, next to my mom's lobster stew (which is in THE ANGEL CRAVED LOBSTER).

Spicy Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup

2 cans coconut milk (in the Asian section of the grocery store; they now make a lite version, if you're counting calories)
1 can asparagus spears, cut up
1 cup frozen cut green beans, par-cooked
1-2 cups frozen shrimp, tails removed (I like a lot of shrimp, so I add a lot!)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red chili paste (here's the heat, so go easy on this; you can always add more if you like a lot of heat
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce or soy sauce (fish sauce is an Asian staple; find it in the Asian section of the store. If you don't like it, you can substitute soy sauce).

Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce to a simmer until the shrimp is defrosted. Be sure that red chili paste is well mixed in, too ;-)

This happens to be my lunch today, BTW. And was yesterday, too. I'm in a soup kind of mood :-)

Shirley

1 comment:

  1. Yum. I love seafood. Good thing I've already eaten.

    And wow, your parents are incredible! Sponsoring 30 people!

    ReplyDelete

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