Maple Trout LIlli’s Thai Curry Soup

Our beloved food correspondent Maple Trout Lilli is back! She nourished the crew on a recent boiling day with this fine soup. I couldn’t taste the maple but I could taste the difference.

She writes:

CUSTOM THAI CURRY SOUP
WITH A hint OF MAPLE

A light but warming soup for when it’s still light at 6:30, but cool enough that you want to take the chill off.  Customize your soup with other great vegetable choices:  spinach, kale, collard greens, cabbage, mushrooms, bean sprouts or snow peas.

Ingredients
2 Tbsp cooking oil
1-2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 Tbsp Thai red curry paste
1 small sweet potato (about 1 lb)
1 bunch baby bok choy
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
13oz can coconut milk
½ Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp maple syrup
3.5 oz rice vermicelli noodles

Garnishes
Thinly sliced red onion
Sliced lime
Fresh cilantro
Sriracha to taste

1.  Prepare the vegetables for the soup and garnishes first.  Mince garlic and grate ginger.   Peel and dice sweet potato into one inch cubes.  Wash bok choy well and chop into one inch strips.  Thinly slice red onion and roughly chop cilantro.

2.  Add cooking oil to large soup pot with minced garlic and grated ginger.   After a couple of minutes, add Thai red curry paste and sauté over med-low for 3-5 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic.

3.  Add diced sweet potato, bok choy along with broth.  Bring to a boil over medium heat and reduce to low and let simmer for 10 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are tender.

4.  While soup is simmering, bring a pot of water to boil for the rice noodles.  Once boiling, add vermicelli and boil for 2-3 minutes, or just until tender.  Drain, saving some of the cooking liquid to add back to the noodles so they don’t stick together.

5.  Once sweet potatoes are tender, add coconut milk, fish sauce and maple syrup.  Stir, taste and adjust fish sauce or syrup if needed.

6.  To serve, divide rice noodles among four bowls.  Ladle warm soup and veggies over the noodles then top with red onion, cilantro, a wedge or two of lime and a drizzle of sriracha.

—MTL