Red Curry Carrot Soup
According to my mother, I was a very picky eater as a kid. But really, what kid wasn't? I do remember the days when I wouldn't eat pepperoni pizza or drink root beer. And now here I am making red curry carrot soup! My how things have changed!
I think the word curry scares off a lot of people. Heck, it scared me off for a long time. I assumed curry was a specific spice or spice mixture. But really curry is a dish that can be made of any number of various spices, meats, vegetables, etc. They can be spicy or mild. Really they can be made just about any way you like. The more curries I have tried, they more I realized I actually really like them!
Red curry is popular in Thailand and the sauce is made from a mixture of ginger, tomato paste, cumin, coriander, tumeric, chili powder and a number of other spices. It's super savory and flavorful, which pairs perfectly with the sweet carrots in this soup.
I first sauteed the carrots, onion, and garlic until the carrots were slightly tender. Then I added in the curry paste and stirred the carrots around so that they were coated. To that, I poured in some vegetable broth and coconut milk, which is another key ingredient in red curry.
Once the carrots were nice and tender after simmering in the broth for a while, I blended everything together with an immersion blender until it was nice and smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can blend in a regular blender, just make sure to vent the lid to let the steam out.
While I love all the flavors in this soup, I also really love that its pretty healthy! The coconut milk has some healthy fat, but the rest of the soup is pretty much just vegetables and some delicious spices. Not to mention those spices have their own health benefits, like turmeric, garlic, and ginger.
If you are a little apprehensive about trying curry, I highly recommend giving this soup a shot! It's definitely a good entry point to the world of curries, and since it's homemade, you can control the spices a little more to suit your own tastes.
If you make this recipe, I would love to know what you think! Especially if you are new to curry. I hope you enjoy!
Ingredients
Red Curry:
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp ginger, grated
1/2 tsp lemongrass, minced
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne
pinch of cinnamon
Soup:
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
2 cups carrots, diced
3 gloves of garlic, minced
1 cup broth
1 1/2 cup coconut milk
red pepper flakes
cilantro
Instructions
In a small bowl, mix together the red curry paste ingredients. Set aside.
Place a large stock pot over medium high heat. Add vegetable oil, onion, carrots, and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes, until onions are translucent. Stir in curry paste and saute for another 2 minutes.
Pour in broth and coconut milk then bring to a simmer. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Continue to cook for another 15-30 minutes.
With an immersion blender, blend the soup until soup. Or transfer to a blender and blend with the lid slightly ajar to allow steam to escape.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with red pepper and cilantro.