Week 6: Thai Peanut Chicken Noodle Soup

The Recipe
1 can coconut milk
4 tsp red curry paste
4 cups chicken broth
1lb chicken
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1/3 cup peanut butter
1tbsp lemon or lime juice
2tbsp soy sauce
2tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp tumeric
200g mushrooms, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced
150g bean sprouts
2 green onions, sliced
4tbsp peanuts
100g rice noodles.

In a large pot, heat the cream from the top of the can of coconut milk. Add the curry paste and cook for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the rest of the coconut milk, the broth, chicken, sweet potato, peanut butter, lemon juice, soy sauce, brown sugar and tumeric. Bring to a boil and leave to simmer until the chicken is cooked - about 20 minutes.
Remove the chicken and cut it into bite sized pieces. Meanwhile, use an immersion blender to puree the soup.
Add mushrooms, bell pepper, peanuts, green onion and noodles and cook for another 5 minutes.

The Verdict
Disappointing : I think the main issue was that there was WAY too much peanut butter, so it completely overwhelmed the other tastes. Also, the rice noodles soaked up too much of the liquid, so it turned into more of a stew than an actual soup. It had definite potential, but unfortunately really didn't work for me. I might try it again another time without the rice noodles, and with only a fraction of the peanut butter.