Coconut Shrimp Soup

This soup was first inspired after lunch at a Thai restaurant, many months ago.

As I don’t normally follow a recipe and often I create something from what I happen to have, this soup is no different. The first time I made it, I tried to make it more “thai”, however tonight’s creation was purely out of what I had and what I needed to use up:

• 3 cups of So Delicious Coconut Milk
• 1 cup canned tomatoes (fresh if you have it, I was simply using up what was leftover from something else)
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger
• 4 small pieces of Chinese dried peppers (chilli flakes or cayenne would also work) OPTIONAL
• ½ red pepper, julienne
• 6 green onions, julienne
• 1 cup frozen corn (fresh if you have)
• 1 cup of shrimp (cooked or raw – cleaned, with tails removed)
• Black pepper to taste

1. Place a pot over medium to low heat
2. Add the coconut milk, tomatoes, fresh ginger and dried peppers for approximately 10 minutes
3. Add the red pepper and green onions, corn and shrimp
4. Cook on low for 10 minutes more
5. Serve

This soup reheats beautifully the next day after the flavours have mingled overnight

You can use many variations in this recipe, chicken or vegetable stock mixed with the coconut milk adds great flavor, fresh lime juice, curry paste, carrots, celery, garlic, chicken, to name a few. I just happened to use what was available (and what needed to be used!)

Enjoy!

Nutritional Highlights:

Coconut Milk is non dairy, unsweetened, and a great source of fat - good to note: approximately 50% of the fatty acids provided by coconut is in the form of medium chain saturated fat called lauric acid, a health promoting fat whose only other abundant source in nature is human breast milk. 

Medium chain fatty acids are easily absorbed and preferentially used as an energy source in the body, their burning actually increases the body's metabolic rate. This doesn't mean you can consume more calories and not gain weight, it simply means that of the calories consumer, more are burned. 

Corn,although a complex carbohydrate and a good source of essential fatty acids and fibre, it is one of the most common food allergens; one of the biggest issues with corn is the widespread use of genetic modification on this grain. When purchasing, organic is always best.