Thai Coconut Soup

This one time, in an Asian restaurant, I had this soup........Sorry. American Pie is one of my favorite movies and I'll take any chance I can to use the band camp line. So anyways, I really liked this Thai soup I had.  It did come with noodles but I asked the waitress to leave them out.  It was really delicious with the right amount of heat to balance out the coconut milk.  

I wanted to make it at home but put my own spin on it. I like lots of shit in my soup. This recipe makes about 3 dinner servings and about 5 lunch servings.  I'll usually make this on a Sunday night to have as lunch throughout the week.  

Cheers!

Angie 

•1 can of full-fat organic coconut milk

•1 carton of organic chicken broth*

•5 boneless organic chicken thighs**

•3 tablespoons of Thai chili or other spicy olive oil (if you don't like heat, don't use the shit!)

•Paprika 

•1-2 bunches of scallions

•5 or more brown crimini or baby bella mushrooms or any small mushroom 

•Thai chili peppers or any other friend chili pepper to taste

•Diced kale, spinach or whatever the fuck else you want for a leafy green

•Kelp noodles (optional)

•Any other veg you might want to throw in the pot (peas work well)

•Diced avocados for a topping (1 good-sized avocado will be perfect for 5 servings)

If you're using chicken:  Sprinkle the chicken with paprika and grill it on low-medium heat.  If you have a cast iron or other type of indoor grill pan, use coconut oil or olive oil to prevent sticking.

Combine the coconut milk and broth in a sauce pan.  Heat and wisk well until incorporated.  Chop scallions and add to the pot. Use the green part to!  Add the Thai chili olive oil.  You can add more or less depending on your tastes.  

When chicken is done, chop it into bite-sized pieces and add it to the pot. Slice the mushrooms and add those in.  If you are using extra Thai chili peppers, put those in.

Bring to a quick boil them immediately reduce heat to simmer for about 10 minutes.

Put the kelp noodles in your bowl and ladle the hot soup over them.  Top with some avocado. 

LUNCH PREP: If you are making this to use as lunch for the week, your prep will be a bit different if you are as anal as I am. First, set yourself up with 5 containers. I use canning jars. The only things that will go in the pot are the broth, coconut milk, scallions, mushrooms, and chili oil. 

Put one diced chicken thigh into each container then add some kelp noodles, any chopped greens, and any other veg you're putting in. 

Ladle broth evenly into each container. Cover when it's cooled. 

Seriously, the only reason I prep different for lunch is because I want it to be as even as possible for each day. It's nuts but that's me. You can totally chuck everything into the pot and do whatever the hell you want. It's your lunch!

*use veggie broth for a vegetarian option

**leave out if making vegetarian 

Kimchi or Kimchee

Kimchi/Kimchee is a Korean side dish made from various vegetables and seasonings that are fermented. Traditionally kimchi styles vary by regions across Korea.

Kimchi is rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, C, phosphorous, niacin, calcium, & iron.  It also contains non-dairy lactic acid bacteria, one of which is lactobacillus kimchii.  All that good shit aids your gut in digestion.

This is, by no means, the only way to make kimchi.  I found several recipes and settled on adapting one I found from hungry tigress food blog.

PROCEDURE:

Day 1:  Dissolve 6 tablespoons of finely ground sea salt OR pink salt in 8 cups of water.  Cut 1 head of cabbage (Napa or savoy) into 1-inch pieces.  (I do not recommend using red cabbage for this part. It's too sweet and it will also throw off the color and everything will turn red. I do like the flavor of it, so when the kimchi is completely done, I chop up some of that red deliciousness and throw that shit right on my plate with the kimchi and mix it in. It adds a bit of sweetness to the sour of the kimchi.)  Ok, back to the green cabbage Goddesses.....Make sure that all the pieces separate as you put them in a non-reactive bowl, preferably glass.  Pour that briny shit all over the cabbage so it gets a good bath!  Place a plate inside the bowl over the cabbage to keep all that leafy green goodness submerged. Let this sit at for least 12 hours or over night.

 

Day 2:  Strain cabbage from brine BUT set the brine aside.  You'll need it later!  Put the cabbage back into the non-reactive bowl.  Add to the cabbage 2 tablespoons of Turkish or Hungarian paprika,  2 tablespoons of finely minced fresh ginger, 2 tablespoons of finely minced fresh garlic, and 6 sliced scallions OR 1 sweet onion quartered and sliced OR hell!  Add both!  This is your party!.  You can add other savory spices as well.   I throw in some cayenne pepper.   

At this point you can also choose to add other veggies.  I added 2 shredded carrots, 1 rib of celery thinly sliced, 1 kohlrabi root quartered and thinly sliced, 1 fresh jalapeño thinly sliced, and 1 Jimmy Nardello sweet Italian frying pepper thinly sliced.  You can also add daikon radishes and cucumbers.  Hell!  Add whatever the fuck you want!  Except tomatoes. They don’t belong in here.  You can put that shit on top when you fill your plate! 

Once you have everything in there that you want, ix everything together really well.  It's best to just dive right in with your hands.

 

Split all that delicious veg between 2 wide-mouth, quart-sized canning jars or if you have a half-gallon jar you can put them all in there.  Make sure you pack everything down really well.  Don’t let any of that shit sneak out!  use your hands if you can.  Pour the brine into the jars just to cover the veg. This is very important so pay attention! You will have brine left over!  SAVE THAT SHIT!!!

 

Now.....Here comes the tricky part.  You have to weight down the veg inside the jar.   This will make one hell of a mess if you aren’t careful. (Ask me how I know.) You're going to do this with sandwich baggies and the rest of that sexy brine.  Very carefully, put a baggie in the opening of each of the jars.  Fill the bags with brine.  Carefully squeeze out the air and seal the baggie.  Do this for all of your jars.  Put any extra brine in a glass jar and save it. You may need it later.  Throw NOTHING away when you make this!  Place the jars into a glass bowl incase they drip.  You will not be putting the lids on at this time so put that shit in a safe place for now!  Put the whole bowl in a cool dark area. If you can’t find an area that stays dark, just put it in a corner of your kitchen and throw a towel over the whole shebang. 

 

Make sure to check it daily to be sure that the veg is still submerged.  You may have to release air from baggies or you may have to add more brine to them.  (See?  Save that shit!)  After 3 days check to see if it has soured enough for your taste.  It could take up to 6 days to get the best flavor.  It could take longer for you.  Depends on your preference.  

Once it's how you like it, carefully remove the baggies and dump all that sext brine into the jars, cap, and refrigerate.  If you need more, add some from the extra jar you have tucked away in the back of your fridge.  This will last quite a while. The vinegar has pickled and preserved everything. Make sure you eat this shit every single day for a happy gut!