Week 21: Coconut Curry Soup

The Recipe
(Serves 2)
~100g precooked protein - I used chicken, but the original recipe called for shrimp
1 carrot (not too big. I used half of a large one)
1/2 bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1/2 onion
~100g rice vermicelli (very thin noodles)
1tsp ginger
2 tbsp red curry paste
1l chicken broth
1 can (400ml) coconut milk
salt, pepper
oil
Juice from 1 lime

Julienne carrot and bell pepper. Put aside.

Mince garlic and julienne onion.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until slightly soft. Add garlic, ginger and red curry paste and cook for about a minute until fragrant. Add broth and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste (add slightly more salt as you would otherwise - the noodles will absorb some of it).

Add noodles and boil for 2 minutes. Add the carrot and bell pepper and boil for another 2.

Split the precooked meat into two bowls and pour the boiling soup over. Squeeze some lime juice over. Serve immediately.

The Verdict
Two tablespoons of curry paste is a LOT, so this is a soup with more than just a bite. I loved it, but beware if you're making this for people who'd prefer less heat - I think it'd be far too much for my DH.

But apart from that I REALLY liked it! I didn't boil the noodles for quite long enough, so they still had a bit of bite, but not enough to detract. Really tasty and extremely easy to make.

Week 20: Mexican Pork Chops

The Recipe
4 pork chops
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp chili
1 tsp cumin
Juice from 1 lime
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp salsa

Mix together salt, cayenne pepper, chili and cumin in a bowl and lime juice, chopped garlic, honey and salsa in either a large bowl or a freezer bag. Sprinkle the pork chops with the spice-mix and place them in the box/bag with the salsa-mix, making sure to coat all sides. Let it marinade for at least 1 hour.

Heat oil on a pan and cook the chops until done.

Serve with rice and vegetables.

The Verdict
It was just borderline too spicy for DH, but I loved it. The salsa-honey mix worked really well. Perhaps I'll try just the marinade without the spices another time, to see if that works better.