Superb Coconut Chicken Curry Soup

When it comes to great tasting Thai food, it is difficult to find better than a good coconut chicken curry soup. It is comforting, stimulating to the taste buds, and it cleans the sinuses with its spiciness.

Unfortunately, Thai cuisine is notorius for its high fat and sodium content. When my nurse practioner, who is Thai, asked me what my diet consisted of, I was excited to tell her that Thai foods were my favorites, especially coconut chicken curry soup, which I made and consumed weekly. She pursed her lips and furled her eyebows at me. "No, no, no," she said. "That is very high in fat and sodium. You cannot eat it so often."

Disappointed, I went home to check her advice with my cookbook. I was stunned to find my favorite soup in the whole world had 635 calories in a single serving, as well as a whopping 41 grams of fat. The sodium content was 2,280 grams. What a horribly, depressing dilemma!

Soon after, I became determined to revise my favorite recipe to incorporate a lower fat and sodium content. Since research showed me that the high calories and fat content came mostly from the coconut milk, while the high sodium was due to the chicken broth, I knew I had to find substitutes for both. After some trial and error, my new recipe satisfied both taste buds, my nurse practioner's medical advice and my waist line. It has been modified to include low fat coconut milk and low sodium chicken broth. Now, not only does it have a most unique flavor, it is low in calories, as well.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 serrano chili peppers, minced
• 2 tbsp Thai green curry paste
• 1 tbsp peeled fresh ginger, grated
• 1 cup light reduced fat coconut milk
• 1/2 red onion, sliced and chopped thin
• 1/2 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" pieces
• 1 tbsp Asian fish sauce
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 fresh lime, sliced into wedges

Combine the broth, water, garlic, chili peppers, curry paste, and ginger in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Pour the broth through a colander into a large bowl. Set the broth aside, discarding the solids left in the colander.

Add 1/2 cup of coconut milk to the original saucepan; bring to a boil. Add the onion, reducing the heat to medium-high; cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid has evaporated (3-5 minutes). Add the chicken; stir-fry until chicken is no longer pink, approximately 4-6 minutes.

Stir in the broth mixture, fish sauce, 1/2 cup coconut milk, and the lime juice. Cook, stirring as needed, until the soup is hot, about 4 minutes.Divide soup into 4 bowls. Sprinkle with the scallions and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Calories 165; Fat 5 grams; Sodium 1,130 grams

While the sodium is not perfect, it is definitely better than my earlier version of this soup. And the fat content is terrific! Some folks serve this dish with white rice, but I suggest that you skip the rice, which has low nutritional content. Serve low calorie salad rolls instead. Scrumptious and addicting... but that's another story.