Green Curry Chicken Soup
I LOVE Thai Food.
Unfortunately, it does not love my muffin top (or maybe loves it too much, it likes to hang out there, set up camp, chill). Thai food can be SUPER unhealthy. Lots of high fat ingredients, lots of frying. Lots of rice.
One of my very favorite dishes is green curry. Coconut milk, lime and spices combine to create the perfect hot, sour, sweet, salty dish. But coconut milk – yikes.
The other day I was looking through an old cookbook from a little restaurant in my hometown. I found a recipe for a green curry soup. Being a total soup fiend, I was intrigued. But alas, the coconut milk! Lots of white rice. Yikes.
Feeling up to a challenge, I reworked the recipe using brown rice and light coconut milk, and adding bell pepper. And guess what? It’s only 180 calories per serving (I’ll give complete nutritional information at the bottom of this post).
Green Curry Chicken Soup
You’ll need:
3 1/2 cups fat free, lower sodium chicken broth
2/3 cup long grain brown rice
2 Tablespoons green curry paste (you can find this on the Asian aisle of most grocery stores)
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger (Please buy it fresh! It is cheap! Stash leftover ginger in the freezer – it keeps FOREVER.)
1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
1/2 pound cooked chicken breast, chopped (tip: use rotisserie chicken – so easy!)
1 14 oz can light coconut milk
lime juice and salt, to taste
lime slices and fresh basil for garnish, if desired
Directions:
In a large pot, bring chicken broth to a boil. Add rinsed brown rice. Lower temperature and cook until done – for brown rice, this is usually about 35-40 minutes.
Add curry paste, garlic powder, basil, ginger, chicken and peppers. Bring to a simmer.
Turn down heat and add coconut milk, salt, and lime juice.
Heat thoroughly. Serve with torn basil leaves floating on top and lime wedges for squeezing. So pretty, so delicious!
If you like a little spice, you can also add hot sauce or a few red pepper flakes. Sub a little tofu for the chicken for a vegetarian option. And, you could most definitely bulk this up with more veggies – snap peas, bean sprouts, broccoli – use your imagination!
Nutrition Information Per Serving (recipe serves 4):
Calories: 180
Fat: 7.4 g
Fiber: 0.6 g
