Name: Carrot Ribbon, Chicken, and Coconut Curry Soup
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 1 pound carrots , peeled; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 2–4 tablespoons Thai yellow curry paste; 1 pound ground chicken; 2 cups water; 1 cup canned coconut milk; 2 tablespoons fish sauce , plus extra for serving; 1 tablespoon sugar; 6 ounces snow peas , trimmed and sliced ½-inch-thick on bias; 4 scallions , sliced thin on bias; 1 cup fresh Thai basil , torn; 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, torn; Lime wedges; Sriracha

Why This Recipe Works

In place of rice or wheat noodles, we used a vegetable peeler to create long ribbons of carrot. Shaving the carrots thin maximized their surface area for soaking up the flavors of the soup, and also made them pleasingly light and crisp. Thai curry paste, which we first bloomed in oil so its many aromatics could thoroughly suffuse the dish, gave our soup a delectably spicy-sweet foundation. We then added some ground chicken, simmering it in coconut milk to make a quick, savory broth in which to cook our carrot noodles and snow peas. We finished this off with a mound of fresh herbs and scallions.

Before You Begin

It’s worth seeking out Thai yellow curry paste for its sweet complexity; however, you can substitute red curry paste. Thai curry paste can range from mild to spicy; taste yours and, if it’s very spicy, use the lower amount. This recipe is featured in our cookbook Mostly Meatless.

Instructions

Shave carrots into thin ribbons lengthwise with vegetable peeler; set aside. Combine oil and curry paste in Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken and cook, breaking up meat into small pieces with wooden spoon, until chicken is no longer pink, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add water, coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, and reserved carrot ribbons. Bring to simmer, then add snow peas and simmer until vegetables are crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes.

Divide evenly among individual serving bowls. Sprinkle with scallions, basil, and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges, sriracha, and extra fish sauce to taste.