Thai Shrimp & Vegetable Soup

I will often gush about my cookbook collection and the favourite cookbooks I have. Back in the day I used to wander Chapters aimlessly, looking at all the different cookbooks and making a mental wish list. In the age of google, people are turning to cookbooks less and less but to me they’re still such a wealth of information. One of my all time favourite cookbooks; 3 Times a Day (Trois Fois Par Jour) by Marilou & Alexander Champagne, I happened to stumble upon it as it was a Heather’s Pick. I flipped through the pages and read some recipes and became completely enamored by this book. This is one of my only cookbooks that I have actually made 90% of the recipes. They’re incredible. The way they are categorized, the variety as well as the fundamentals not to mention the BEAUTIFUL food photography. When I was doing research for the Soup Chronicles I turned to this book and sought out recipes I had not tried yet but really wanted to.

ingredients for Spicy Shrimp Soup

This is the original recipe that I wanted to share with you, my only adjustment was adding carrots in place of the honey (for sweetness). Typically I will look through recipes for inspiration and push to create something of my own, or I will adapt a recipe to my taste. Often I look to recipes as solidarity that the flavour combination I'm dreaming up makes sense or is authentic to the cuisine I am creating. Although I am an expert in nutritious and delicious food, sometimes I need a little guidance when venturing into flavours unknown.

What drew me to this recipe was the combination of Garam Masala, an Indian spice blend, and Red Thai Curry Paste, a Thai spice blend. The idea of marrying those two flavours together blew my mind and my taste buds. The broth is so rich, flavourful and well balanced. It has a wonderful spice to it, which you can control by adding more or less sriracha. If spice intimidates you that I recommend leaving the sriracha until the very end, so you have more control over. If you are new to curries or have had a bad experience with curry in the paste, please don’t let that stop you from trying this recipe. I am confident this broth will restore your faith in curries - Indian or Thai.

As always please feel free to utilize vegetables you have on hand - cauliflower, spinach, swiss chard, peas, etc. The size of vermicelli you wish to use is up to you, I opted for a thicker noodle as I find the thinner vermicelli tends to get lost in dishes like this. Please feel free to substitute an egg noodle or spaghetti if that is all you have on hand - just be sure to cook separately and rinse with cold water before adding to the soup.

PRO TIP: I always purchase shrimp in their shells, I like to infuse my sauces and broths with the shrimp shells whenever I am making a seafood dish. If I am making grilled shrimp I save the shells in freezer bags until I'm making something with a liquid base that I can infuse. In this recipe I added the shrimp shells to stock and simmer for 30 minutes. This helped to create another layer of flavour to compliment this dish. I do the same when making risotto or pasta sauce. The shells contain so much flavour, just as animal bones do, so why waste them? If you get into the habit of saving your shells you can make straight shrimp broth for dishes like this.

INGREDIENTS

1 tsp Sesame oil

1 yellow onion, roughly chopped

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

2 tsp garam masala

1 tbsp red curry paste

1 tsp sriracha sauce

1 tbsp grated ginger

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 can coconut milk

¼ cup tomato paste

1 tbsp maple syrup

Zest and juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp tamari

1 tbsp fish sauce

8 cups stock

1 medium carrot, scrubbed and thinly sliced

1 cup broccoli florets

8 baby bok choy, halved

1 lb raw wild caught shrimp, peeled and deveined

4 oz rice vermicelli

Handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

2 green onions, thinly sliced

METHOD

In a pot, heat a bit of sesame oil and cook the onion for about 5 minutes, until soft.

Season well with salt and pepper.

Add the garam masala, curry paste, sriracha, ginger and garlic, cook for 3 more minutes.

Add the coconut milk and stir well

Using an immersion blender (or transfer to a standard blender) blend the contents of the pot until smooth. If making a half recipe, add some stock to make it easier (and less messy) to blend.

Add the tomato paste, maple syrup, lime zest and juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, and stock.

Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat.

Add the remaining ingredients and let it all simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the shrimp are fully cooked.

In the meantime, place the vermicelli noodles in a bowl and over with boiling hot water.

Let sit for 5-6 minutes or until softened.

Rinse noodles under cold water and add to the soup.

Adjust seasoning and serve.