What's Cooking? It's Thai Coconut Soup!

Thai Coconut Soup (Tom Kha Gai)
15 Week Challenge Sinful Food Makeover

This comforting soup is a favourite among Thai restaurant goers including me! This soup is so easy to make that it will definitely become an instant go-to dish.

Although you're usually served a small 1 cup portion in a restaurant, the calories in this soup can sky rocket with full fat coconut cream, fatty chicken stock, chicken and other chef secrets.

I've lightened this soup up with the the following modifications:

- Lite Coconut Milk instead of Regular Coconut Milk
- Low Sodium, Fat-Free Chicken Broth instead of Regular Chicken Stock
- Shrimp instead of Chicken
- Less Fish Sauce and Brown Sugar
- Addition of Spinach



THAI COCONUT SOUP - Serves 4
2 points per serving

Ingredients:

• 1 Can Lite Coconut Milk
• 1 Can Low Sodium, Fat-Free Chicken Broth (the next time I make this I'll use half the can)
• 1 Cup Raw Shrimp (I halved them to make them bite size and create the illusion of more)
  
• 1 tbsp Fish Sauce
• 1 Cup Spinach
• 2 tsp Brown Sugar
• Ginger to taste
• 1 lime
  
• Zest of 1 lime
• 1/2 Chili Pepper or Jalapeno (for less heat put the whole pepper in without cutting it and remove when finished)
  
• 1 tbsp Green Onion
• 1 stalk lemon grass
• 1 sprig of cilantro
  

Directions:

1. Bring Coconut Milk, Chicken Broth, Lime Zest, Ginger and Lemon Grass to a boil for about 5 minutes.
2. Add shrimp, onions, hot peppers, fish sauce, brown sugar and spinach.
   
3. Let simmer for another 10 minutes or until it thickens up a bit.
4. Ladle soup into bowls and top with cilantro + a squirt of lime juice.

It's so easy and super fast!



This recipe can be easily modified to suit individual tastes. Try substituting tofu or mushrooms and vegetable stock for a vegetarian dish.

I recommend tasting along the way. The first time I made this soup I used 3 tbsp of fish sauce as per a recipe I found online. It was super salty and it ruined the entire dish. The next time I make the soup I will use less chicken broth because I prefer a stronger coconut flavour. Make your own mix and see what tickles your taste buds!

Bon Appétit

xoxo