Thai Curry-Coconut Soup with Shrimp

Though I tend to favor thick, pureed vegetable-based soups as accompaniments to main dishes, there are a few soups I have had that struck me as perfect as meals on their own. This Thai-inspired curry-coconut soup is one of them. This soup's broth is fantastic - vegetable, chicken, or shrimp stock simmered with coconut milk, red curry paste, ginger, garlic and onions, with a splash each of lime juice and fish sauce, respectively. The soup gets its heartiness from a few generous handfuls of kale and oyster mushrooms as well as succulent shrimp poached in the soup before serving. Garnish with cilantro, lime slices or wedges, and serve in large bowls for a satisfying meal that needs little else on the side, save for perhaps a mango or papaya salad.

Ingredients:
1 large onion
3 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
3 bird chiles, seeded and chopped
1 piece lemongrass
1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste
1/2-pound oyster mushrooms
1/2-pound shrimp
1 can coconut milk
4 cups vegetable, chicken, or shrimp stock
Juice of 2-3 limes
2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 handfuls kale, torn into bite-sized pieces

Procedure:
(1) Sautee onions, garlic, and ginger in a pot over medium heat for about 7-8 minutes.
(2) Add curry paste and combine with other contents of the pot.
(3) Add coconut milk and stock.
(4) Cut several incisions in the piece of lemongrass and add it to the pot.
(5) Add lime juice, fish sauce, and chopped chiles.
(6) Allow contents to just barely reach a simmer, then add mushrooms and shrimp. Stir for a few minutes until shrimp have turned orange - this means they are cooked.
(7) Add kale and cook for about 2 more minutes.
(8) Remove lemongrass from the pot.
(9) Serve soup in large bowls, garnished with cilantro and lime slices or wedges.

Thai Chili-Basil Chicken with Green Mango Salad

I've had more than a few people ask me when it was that I really started to "get into" food. My general answer is that I really started to take pleasure in eating and cooking around age 19 or 20, but if I had to name a pivotal moment, that would be when I had my first bite of the crispy chicken basil at Nud Pob in Boston on a cold and snowy day in November of 2004. Crispy, succulent bits of chicken blanketed with handfuls of Thai basil and strips of fiery red and green chiles over sweet and nutty pad thai... it was heavenly and I will never forget. I used to go back there once per week during college and though I tried several items on the menu, the crispy chicken basil was by far the most memorable. When I moved to New York in 2007, I searched high and low for something similar, and though the crispy pork belly with chili, garlic, and basil at SriPraPhai gave me my fix to an extent, it just wasn't the same. The next time I returned to Boston on a trip to visit a friend, I made a beeline to Nud Pob and ordered order the crispy chicken basil, and I must say that some combination of the heat of the chiles and my sheer joy of being reunited with a long lost favorite caused my eyes to water. Yes, a dish I had eaten dozens of times in a hole-in-the-wall, bare-bones basement restaurant moved me to tears! Here is my twist on the dish, along with a refreshing green (unripe) mango salad.

THAI CHILI-BASIL CHICKEN

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks
Cornmeal, to coat chicken chunks
Fish sauce*, to taste
Black soy sauce, to taste
Lime juice, to taste
Handful of Thai basil*
2 kaffir lime leaves*, torn into small pieces
2-4 red or green bird chiles*, minced, depending on desired spiciness
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2-red onion, minced
Cooking oil - olive, peanut, or vegetable are all fine

Procedure:
(1) Coat chicken chunks with cornmeal and set aside.
(2) Put a large skillet or wok over low heat with a liberal pour of cooking oil.
(3) Add minced garlic, onion, kaffir lime leaves, and bird chiles.
(4) After about a minute, turn up the heat to medium and add chicken chunks. Cook on all sides for a few minutes and add a few liberal dashes of fish sauce, black soy sauce, and lime juice. Stir to thoroughly coat chicken chunks with this pan sauce.
(5) After about another minute of cooking, add Thai basil, and allow to wilt a bit while stirring.
(6) Serve chicken and its sauce over white or jasmine rice. Top with more fresh Thai basil.

GREEN MANGO SALAD

Ingredients:
3 green (completely unripe) mangos*
1 tablespoon palm sugar*
1/2-red onion, cut into thin half-moons
Handful of peanuts
Fish sauce*, to taste
Juice of 2 limes
Handful of fresh mint

Procedure:
(1) Grate mangos into matchstick-size bits. If you don't have a grater, you can cut the mango into small, thin strips. Put into a bowl.
(2) Combine with mango a liberal dash of fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar, onion, peanuts, and mint.
(3) Serve at room temperature.

***General note on ingredients***
I understand that many of the ingredients I have mentioned are not available in mainstream grocery stores. If you are in New York, you can find any of the Thai ingredients (except for green mango) in these recipes at Bangkok Center Grocery in Chinatown, just north of City Hall. If you don't have access to a store where these ingredients are sold, here are my suggestions.

-Brown sugar can be substituted for palm sugar.
-Kaffir lime leaves can be left out in favor of slightly more lime juice.
-Jalapeños, serranos, or another type of potent chile can be substituted for bird chiles.
-Though there is no exact substitute for green mango, ripe mango sliced into small pieces combined with grated apple produces a similar flavor and texture. Regarding green mango, this can be very difficult to find. However, if you are in New York, there is an outdoor fruit stand one block to the north of Bangkok Center Grocery that regularly has them.