Fast, delicious and hearty!
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 14-oz can light coconut milk
- 2 tsp red curry paste
- 1 tbsp fish sauce (nahm plah)
- 2 tsp ginger fresh grated
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup green beans cut up into 1 inch pieces
- 3/4 lbs shrimp peeled and deveined
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
- 1 lime wedged
- cilantro for garnish
- thai rice noodles optional
- Carbohydrate 6.52354999917416 g
- Cholesterol 85.12 mg
- Fat 15.0666699998039 g
- Fiber 1.29473334273236 g
- Protein 15.1286866664869 g
- Saturated Fat 12.5679556666349 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (281g)
- Sodium 796.913999999262 mg
- Sugar 5.2288166564418 g
- Trans Fat 1.14995499995079 g
- Calories 212 calories
Step-by-step
- In medium pot over med.-high heat, combine first 7 ingredients.
- Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and add beans, rice noodles if using and frozen shrimp.
- If using fresh shrimp I would wait until soup is almost done to add.
- Top with scallions and cilantro to serve and lime wedge on side.
Overcooking shrimp in a simmered broth is the single most common error made when preparing Thai-inspired soups. Small crustaceans turn rubbery within seconds if left in a rolling boil too long. Success relies entirely on visual cues rather than guessing with a thermometer.
Judging Doneness Without a Thermometer
Shrimp communicate their readiness through geometry and color. Raw shrimp are translucent grey and shaped like a loose letter 'C'. As heat penetrates the muscle fibers, the proteins coagulate and force the shell-side curve to tighten into a firm letter 'O'. At the exact moment this opaque, pink-rimmed 'O' forms, remove the pot from the heat source. Fresh shrimp require only two minutes in hot liquid to reach this stage, whereas frozen specimens need the full duration specified in the method steps to thaw and cook simultaneously.
- Use a standard three-quart saucepan if a wok is unavailable; curved pot walls concentrate simmering heat efficiently.
- Substitute a microplane for a box grater when processing fresh ginger to avoid stringy fibers in the broth.
- Store leftover broth and seafood separately for up to 48 hours to prevent the shrimp from absorbing excess salt and toughening further.
