Green Curry Chicken Soup

Wow, what a weekend! December is in full swing for our family. Saturday morning, the girls were in the Christmas parade downtown. Some very dedicated parents (not me, I totally slacked on this one) and teachers built an award-winning float for their school that the fourth and fifth graders got to ride on and belt out Christmas carols to parade watchers. They had a blast and they won the 1st Place Jingle Bell Music Award! And, as if the parade wasn’t enough fun, our Saturday and Sunday afternoons were spent at the Holiday Magic concert at the Tower Theatre downtown where the girls sang in the children’s choir. Ella even had a solo! She is one brave girl. I love our school and our town. Really feeling the community spirit the last couple days!

To top it off we even had some snow!

So it begins… The anticipation, the decorating, the wish lists, the checklists, the parties, the baking, the freaking elf (if you’ve fallen prey), the school plays, the crafts you intend to make, the friends, the family, the dresses, the tights, the shoes, the Christmas books, the favorite movies, the out of town guests, the seemingly endless shopping, and of course, the sweets and rich food everywhere you look. It’s a lot and some of it’s wonderful and some of it’s annoying and some of it’s just plain exhausting. My Christmas wish for you (and for me) is to find the balance to enjoy the season without becoming a stressed-out scrooge. For me, that means remembering to get some exercise, take a hot bath now and then, not try to please everyone with the perfect gift, and eat nourishing food in between the See’s candy and cheese broil binges.

This soup, full of veggies, chicken, ginger, garlic, and spicy green curry fits in my plan very nicely. Make it easy on yourself by picking up a rotisserie-cooked chicken at the grocery store and use some low-sodium chicken stock in a box. Also, please note that I use a curry powder, not curry paste, in this recipe. You should be able to find a good green curry powder at your local spice shop or specialty foods store. I get mine from Savory Spice here in Bend.

Green Curry Chicken Soup

(10 -12 servings)

2 TB coconut oil (or olive oil)

1 sweet onion (medium/large), chopped

1 1/2 cups celery, chopped (about 3 ribs)

2 cups carrots, chopped (about 3 large carrots)

1 cup red bell pepper, chopped

a couple pinches of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (you can add more later if needed, go easy on the salt if you use boxed chicken stock)

1 TB fresh ginger, peeled and grated or finely chopped (about a 2-inch chunk)

3 garlic cloves, peeled and grated or finely chopped

4 cups cooked chicken (white and/or dark meat), chopped

1 – 3 TB green curry powder (depending on how spicy you want it)

1 quart (4 cups) low-sodium chicken stock (boxed or homemade)

1 tsp Thai fish sauce

juice of 1 lime

one 13.5 ounce can unsweetened coconut milk

Place oil in a large stockpot on the stove on medium heat. Add the chopped onion, celery, carrots, bell pepper, salt and black pepper. Cook until veggies are soft, but not browned, about 15 – 20 minutes, stirring often.

Once veggies are soft, the onions should be translucent, add the ginger and garlic. If you don’t have a Microplane to grate them, be sure and chop them finely to avoid large chunks.

Chop up the chicken and add it to the veggies.

Add the curry powder and stir to coat the chicken and vegetables, cook for a couple minutes on medium heat.

Add chicken stock, fish sauce, lime juice, and coconut milk. Cook on medium-high heat until the soup is hot, then turn the heat down to low-medium and simmer for about 15 minutes. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if necessary.