I love challenging myself to come up with a dish using ingredients I already have! And this Dreamy Curry Coconut Seafood Soup came about after my first attempt at a dinner party. This one-dish soup is so fast, making it a super weeknight dinner!
Some helpful notes…
Use the same technique as with stir frying, cook each vegetable SEPARATELY as they don’t cook at the same rate.
Use a wide shallow bowl, I got these beautiful orange ones at West Elm and they are perfect for presenting any dish. My new favorite bowls. I have them in white and gold because they ran out of orange.
Use WHATEVER vegetables you have, that’s the beauty of being a Wok Star! None of my cooking is about specific ingredients.
Use a good brand of curry powder, it makes a world of difference, don’t use curry sauce! I love Baba’s from Malaysia my mom introduced me to and I just found a very reasonably priced site for it, yay. I’m not an affiliate but should be. There’s a different one for meat and seafood, however, between us, I don’t think we’d detect it, ha, ha, this site only had meat curry powder.
Start with 1 tablespoon for 3 bowl pot which is what I did for 2 people. Everyone has different taste profiles, so adjust according to how spicy you like it. Just know when you add coconut milk, it will dilute the spiciness, so adjust after that as well.
This dish was originally inspired by a Curry Shrimp soup I loved at Lillikoi Organic Living in South Beach. If you ever get a chance, pop in there for their version.
When you like a dish at a restaurant, claim it for yourself, put your spin on it and use what you like and expand on it. That easy, that’s what being a Wok Star is all about. It’s more about the cooking PROCESS than specific ingredients and measurements.
This post is about shifting your cooking mindset…
Cooking is about FLAVORS, TEXTURES AND COLORS, in that order. If you focus on those, everything else will fall into place. I repeat this a lot in my cooking class. Keep practicing and the process will become second nature. And when that happens, you’ll look forward to CREATING instead of avoiding cooking because it’s drudgery.
What makes cooking EASY is if you stock some basics then you’ll be able to create some pretty fantastic dinners! This brings me to a much needed blog on stocking basics, that’ll be next.
The first time I made this Dreamy Curry Coconut Seafood Soup was for a dinner party, notice I used snow peas and mini sweet peppers. There were some diet restrictions and I wanted to make most of it ahead of time.
I poached salmon and shrimp ahead and reheated broth to pour over when guests arrived. It worked out so well, all about the planning.
Snow peas, mini multi colored sweet peppers and scallions. Crunchy textures and added a pop of color.
Here’s a step by step for Dreamy Curry Coconut Seafood Soup…
Ingredients:
Tilapia cut into big chunks
Shrimp
Brussels Sprouts
sweet corn
mini sweet peppers
G&G
Scallions
Flavorings:
TSP (tamari, sherry, pepper white)
Curry powder (see note above)
Coconut Milk
Garnish:
chopped scallions
chopped Cilantro
Lime wedges
Method:
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- Start by using the bowl you will serve in as a measuring vessel for the broth and add 1 extra bowl because broth tends to boil down over time.
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- Next, add flavorings to broth: G&G; TSP and curry powder, mix well.
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- Poach tilapia on slow simmer so they don’t break. Use slotted spoon to transfer to serving bowl.
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- Poach shrimp till just pink, spoon around tilapia in bowl.
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- Blanche SEPARATELY Brussels Sprouts, sweet corn, sweet peppers in boiling broth and take out with slotted spoon and place around seafood in bowl.
- Reheat broth to rolling boil. Depending on how many guests you are feeding (1 can of coconut milk for more than 4 people), I only put in about 4-6 tablespoons of coconut milk for 2 of us so it’s not so rich and heavy.
Present garnishes in separate bowls on a nice tray with a flower arrangement.
Garnishes:
- Put garnishes in separate bowls in case guests don’t like a certain one (I learned that one!)
- Squeeze lime wedge over your soup, lime is amazing, it helps to ‘wake up’ all the flavors and make them shine and accentuated. However, don’t overdo it because then it becomes too sour and ruin the other flavors. You can also swirl in some coconut cream. Sprinkle chopped scallions and cilantro for a complete fresh flavor blast.
- I’ve now added my new fav find…Crispy shallots or Crispy Red Onions from Asian market. They have NO MSG or processed chemicals, only fried in either soy bean oil or coconut oil.
I remember my mom taught us how to shallow fry shallots in oil. They are sprinkled on many dishes in Malaysia especially noodle dishes, they give a nice crunch and superb flavor, salivating just thinking about these, ha, ha. Peeling shallots and cutting them thin, then frying is so much work, I was elated when I discovered them already fried in a jar from the Asian market.
There is nothing more rewarding than hearing your hubby say how much he enjoyed my Curry Coconut Seafood Soup, dreamy and creamy.
Now, dream up your own version and share with us in COMMENTS below or ask me questions!
Hi, I'm Wok Star Eleanor Hoh, cooking teacher, blogger and presenter. What I enjoy most is sharing my knowledge and love of wok cooking! My NO-RECIPE, NO-MEASURING, NO-CALORIE COUNTING technique for one-dish dinners uses a few fresh ingredients and only 4 seasonings! I'll show you how with the right wok, the right wok hei (high heat), the right technique and quality ingredients. Anyone can Cook Like a Wok Star using my Wok Star Kit. I hope you'll enjoy visiting my website which is full of information, videos, resources and tips to make you a Wok Star!
