Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Coconut Curry Soup

This is one of my restaurant copy-cat recipes. Years ago I had something similar at a "noodle" restaurant (can't remember the name right now to save my life). It was so good I had to try to copy it. This is what I came up with, and I must say I think it's better ;) I promise you, as soon as the curry powder hits the hot pan you're going to be in heaven.

This is also one of the recipes from my book. One of my recipe testers said her kids freaked out because it was orange, but once they tasted it they loved it (at least "liked" it). Her toddler even wanted seconds.

I use frozen cauliflower because 1. I hate cutting cauliflower, 2. It's easy to have on hand in the freezer, 3. In the soup you can't tell whether it was fresh or frozen. Win-win, I say :) Slightly thaw the cauliflower to make chopping it easier.

You'll also notice I specifically say to not use light coconut milk. Light coconut milk isn't worth using, and for the amount called for in this soup, go with the regular. You'll be much happier with the finished soup. Also, 1 1/2 cups of the soup only has 256 cal, 9g fat, 6g fiber, and is 5 Weight Watcher's points. Yeah, use the regular coconut milk.

Coconut Curry Soup
Printable Recipe

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 small onion, diced
1 medium carrot, scraped and grated
1 tablespoon hot curry powder (or regular curry powder)
1 32-oz carton chicken broth (4 cups)
1 15-oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen cauliflower florets, coarsely chopped
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast (about 6 tenders)
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut milk (not light) (1/2 of a 13.5 oz can)
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1. Heat a large pot over medium heat until hot. Add the oil and let it heat for about 10 seconds. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until the onion is just starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and curry powder; cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.

2. Add the chicken broth, garbanzo beans, cauliflower, tomatoes, and salt, and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, cover the pot with the lid slightly ajar, and simmer for 10 minutes. Take the pot off the heat.

3. Add the chicken and coconut milk, and stir to combine. Don't let the soup boil after adding the coconut milk. I play it safe by turning off the heat; the soup is plenty hot to heat the coconut milk and chicken through.

Add the cilantro and stir to combine.

Makes 6-8 servings.

1 cup = 171 cal/6g fat/4g fiber/3 WW points
1 1/2 cups = 256 cal/9g fat/6g fiber/5 WW points
2 cups = 341 cal/12g fat/8g fiber/7 WW points



Since this recipe only uses half a can of coconut milk you might wonder what to do with the rest. You could put the whole can in the soup. I don't know what that would taste like, so you'd be on your own there. You could make a double batch of soup and have awesome left-overs to share--or not (done it). You could put it in the fridge, wait for it to go bad, and then throw it away (done it). Or you can freeze it. Most things I found on-line said freezing coconut milk was bad...Don't do it. I did it anyway, and it worked just fine. You can freeze coconut milk. Thaw the frozen milk in the fridge or gently in the microwave.

13 comments:

  1. I was scared that with the coconut milk it would have too many calories....Thanks for putting that information. Now I'll have to try it!!!

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  2. I CAN'T wait to make this. : ) Sounds soooo yummy!

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  3. Wow you can photograph soup! I've never been able to, it just never looks that good. This looks wonderful!

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  4. Intriguing! This will definitely go on my to-try list. I've used coconut milk in smoothies before - it's a tasty addition to pineapple, banana and strawberry smoothies. My mom makes coconut mousse out of it. I also use it in Thai curries.

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  5. I tried it and this soup is excellent! My husband especially loved it. He was full from the lunch that was brought in at work, but he couldn't resist trying it and then having a second bowl!

    I ended up making a double batch so I wouldn't have to worry about dinner the next day. It's just as good as a left-over. The taste of the curry and coconut was wonderful. I'll definitely be making it again :)

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  6. Has anyone tried it with the LITE Coconut Milk and how does it taste? I don't have access to E-tools on the Weight Watcher site. Could you tell me what the points would be, using the LITE Coconut Milk?
    THANK YOU!

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  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. @Anonymous, here's the info for this soup with 3/4 cup lite coconut milk: 1 cup: 126.5 cal/3g fat/3.5g fbr/2 pts; 2 cups: 253 cal/6.4g fat/7g fbr/5 pts; 1 1/2 cups: 198.7 cal/4.8g fat/5.3g fbr/3 pts.

    I hope this helps, and Thanks for visiting :)

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  9. Thank you so much. It's really not much difference in points. So I'm going with the straight up Coconut milk vs the LITE. I'll be trying soon and will post my results. THANKS, I look forward to trying many other recipes.

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  10. @Anonymous, That's my thinking, too. The regular coconut milk really is better tasting. I'd love to hear how it goes if you end up making it :) Thanks! :)

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  11. Well Tiffiany...I made the soup last night and it was so amazing! It will be made plenty more times in our kitchen. I think I might try "HOT" curry powder next time. We like things a little hotter! I froze the remainder of the coconut milk and plan to use it in my next batch. Your truly an inspiration and make cooking fun! Thanks again!

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  12. Yay, for Anonymous! We like it better with the hot curry. I've been making it with the regular so our 2 year-old will eat it. Thanks for letting me know how it went--your comment made my day :)

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