Comforting Coconut Curry Seafood Soup

Hi beautiful souls! If you’re like me, you’ve been using this time at home to get creative in the kitchen and try new recipes you didn’t have time for in the past. I’m really enjoying all the time I get to spend creating healthy and flavorful meals!

I love everything about food –my childhood nickname may or may not have involved the word greedy lol– and when times are stressful, a great meal can help pull you out of your funk. Coconut curry noodle soup is top of mind for me when I think of comfort foods! This dish was actually inspired by a yellow coconut curry with jumbo lump crab I had in a beautiful restaurant called Kub Kao Kub Pla in Bangkok, Thailand.

What I love about curry most is that you can really make it your own by incorporating the foods that you love in your dish. I love seafood so I loaded my curry up with Barramundi (Australian Sea Bass), Jumbo Gulf Shrimp & Jumbo Lump Crab Meat! Use this recipe as a guideline but please feel free to substitute in the vegetables and meats that you enjoy the most so that this meal brings you as much joy as it does me.

Now let’s get cooking! 

---

What You’ll Need:

• ~3 Tbsp. Yellow Thai Curry Paste
  • I prefer using the paste, but use what’s available to you!
• 2 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil (or toasted sesame oil)
• Kosher or sea salt
• Cracked black pepper
• Curry powder
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp of light brown sugar or honey
• 1 can of coconut milk (I use the low fat/reduced guilt version)
• 6-8 cups of water
• Green onions (1 per serving)
• 1 yellow or white onion
• 1 shallot
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Fresh cilantro
• 1 Red bell pepper
• 1-2 jalapeños (depends on spice tolerance)
• White button mushrooms
• 1 package of rice noodles
• Australian Sea Bass filets (Barramundi) (1 per person) –
  • You can substitute with any mild wild-caught white fish. Mahi Mahi is also a great option.
• 1/2 lb of wild-caught Jumbo Shrimp
• 1 package of jumbo lump crab meat (8 oz.)
  • This can be expensive, so feel free to substitute with claw meat which is more affordable.
• 1 large pot/dutch oven and 1 cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil

---

Prep the Vegetables:

Rinse all vegetables thoroughly.

• Dice onions, shallot, and garlic
• Roughly chop cilantro
• Thinly slice red pepper & jalapeño removing ribs & seeds
• Thinly chop green onions
• Slice mushrooms.

---

Prep the Seafood:

• Rinse fish fillets, pat dry and lightly season with salt, pepper, curry powder on both sides. Lightly coat with olive oil and place on cookie sheet.
• Peel and devein shrimp. Strain shrimp to remove any excess water and place in small bowl and season with the same blend as the fish.
• Set seafood aside

---

Start your curry: 

1. Add large pot to medium-high heat and add olive and sesame oil to the pan
2. When the oil is lightly sizzling add yellow onions, mushrooms, shallot & peppers to the pot
3. Sprinkle the vegetables with 1 tsp of salt, cracked black pepper, and a dash of crushed red pepper flake stirring occasionally to ensure seasoning is evenly distributed
4. Once the vegetables have started to soften add in yellow curry paste and stir until vegetables are well coated for approx 1-2 mins.
5. Add in the entire can of coconut milk and stir to incorporate ingredients
6. Slowly add water and stir to incorporate ingredients
   • NOTE: Due to the fat content in coconut milk the soup will thicken so you may need more water to get desired consistency.
7. Add brown sugar/honey and 1-2 Tbsp of salt to taste.
8. Allow soup to come to a rapid simmer
9. Once water is boiling add in your rice noodles and stir occasionally to keep noodles from sticking together.
10. Once noodles are almost done drop in the shrimp and cook until shrimp is pink and cooked through.
11. Once noodles reach desired tenderness and remove pot from heat.

Broil the fish:

• Once you add the shrimp turn oven on to High Broil
• Place cookie sheet with fish on the top rack and broil until the edges turn crispy and the fish is cooked through. This will vary based on the size and thickness of your filet (usually 7-10 minutes)
  • NOTE: I recommend watching the fish very closely to avoid overcooking
• Once fish is cooked through remove from oven

Plate your dish:

• Ladle soup in a deep bowl
• Add broiled fish fillet, green onions, and cilantro to each bowl.
• Top with jumbo lump crab meat
• Serve & enjoy!

I hope you enjoy making this recipe as much as I loved to create and EAT it! If you have any questions at all, please drop them in the comments. I’m happy to help! Have a wonderful day!