I have semi-mastered the art of cooking Italian, Mexican and basic American food but when it comes to more foreign cuisine like Greek, Chinese, Thai or French... I am completely and utterly lost, not to mention intimidated.
Yesterday, I had a coconut based soup at a Thai restaurant and it was SO good. I figured that it would be an easy "foreign cuisine" starter dish to make so I got to work, researching recipes and basic thai flavors and spices to incorporate into the dish.
I adapted a recipe from THIS website and came up with the following recipe. Let me tell you, it totally knocked me and my man's socks off! It was so delicious and so easy to make. The recipe calls for 4 servings but we quickly turned it into 2 servings. My tummy is so pleased right now.
Also, please excuse these horrible pictures! I guess splurging on a DSLR camera doesn't automatically make you a professional photographer like I thought! Shoot. Seriously, though. Shoot and FAIL.
Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 10 minutes | Yield: 4 servings
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
12 pound medium or large shrimp, shelled and deveined
32 - 48 oz low sodium chicken broth (you can dilute the coconut flavor by adding more chicken broth)
1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
4 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar, white sugar or agave nectar syrup
1 teaspoon diced ginger
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3/4 pounds fresh thick udon noodles
3/4 cup packed fresh cilantro
3/4 cup crimini mushrooms
Directions:
Bring chicken broth and ginger to a boil in a large saucepan. Turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the coconut milk and bring to a simmer again. Add shrimp, chicken and mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until chicken and shrimp are cooked thoroughly.
Stir in fish sauce, sugar, crushed red pepper, lime juice, noodles and 1/2 cup cilantro. Set simmer 1-2 additional minutes or until noodles break up. Serve immediately! Yummm time!
