Thai Inspired Soup

Have you had enough rain and cold weather this summer? Are you as obsessed with the capture of Whitey Bulger as I am?

I hope so.

As I mentioned a few times this week, I have been quite under the weather. It started with a fever and congestion and moved into a sore throat, headaches, and a cough. All along, all I could think about was the coconut soup from my favorite Thai restaurant, The King & I. It’s warm and spicy, flavorful, and has both a richness and a lightness that I can’t quite explain.

Unfortunately, The King & I doesn’t deliver to Dorchester. In fact, only a small handful of places do, and they are generally not-so-great pizza places, so I went without my soup until I felt a little better on Friday and got to the grocery store. In the car. With hefty canvas bags.

I went without a recipe, just keeping in mind the simple yet powerful flavors that stand out in this soup. I gathered a red chili pepper, cilantro, limes, lemongrass, and coconut milk.

The soup took about five minutes to make. While my husband peeled shrimp, I added a minced chili pepper to a few cups of coconut milk and brought it to a simmer. To that I added a few drops of lemon grass from the Gourmet Garden tube. I am loving Gourmet Garden products; they are really a great value and give you the flavor of fresh herbs but a little more staying power so money isn’t wasted.

Once the shrimp were ready, I tossed them (raw) into the bubbling soup and waited just a few minutes until they were cooked through. I turned the heat off, served up bowls of soup, squeezed the juice of half a lime in each, and topped with shredded cilantro.

Stir it up, and drink in the warmth and comfort. This soup was so soothing to my sore throat, and it contained just the flavors I wanted all week long. When you are craving something, you just have to have it!

I felt better almost instantly after eating the soup. Now let’s hope the sun makes an appearance sometime soon. . .

Have you recently recreated a restaurant dish you were craving?