Red Curry & Wild Rice Soup

I have lived in Florida for most of my life and I don't remember it ever being this cold. I recall it snowed flurries when I first moved here with my family, but I still don't remember it being this freezing. I went to my nephews third birthday party this weekend, and it was rainy and chilly out. Luckily it was at an inside venue, but I remember last year it was outside at sunny! 

It was a Sunday, and it had been a freezing week, and all I wanted was some warm comforting soup to end the weekend. I was looking through my fridge and I had some red curry paste, tons of veggies, coconut milk, and I knew that whatever I was making was going to involve red curry. I ended up making a soup with wild rice, a red curry broth, and veggies. It was so soothing and relaxing and is exactly what I needed to put me to sleep before the start of the work week. This recipe was inspired by a recipe I made a few months ago from Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson.

Red Curry Wild Rice Soup

2 tablespoons sesame oil
4 garlic cloves chopped
1/2 large yellow onion chopped
1/2 large red pepper chopped
8 pieces of baby corn - halved lengthwise, then cut in half widthwise
1 and 1/2 teaspoon red curry paste
1/2 cup wild rice
2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1 heaping cup of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 and 1/2 tablespoon braggs liquid amino (or soy sauce)
1 can coconut milk (14oz)
1/2 cup water
1 cup cauliflower
5 green onions, white and green parts, chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro
2 tablespoons basil
Lime Juice
1 teaspoon sugar
Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
black pepper to taste

Heat 2 tablespoons of sesame oil in a soup pot to medium heat. When it starts to sizzle, add the garlic, yellow onion, red pepper, and baby corn. Add the red curry paste and stir together and saute for about 4 minutes until the onion gets soft. Make sure the curry is evenly distributed.

Next, add the wild rice, the vegetable broth, mushrooms, and bring to a boil, then simmer and cook according to the wild rice package. I cooked mine for about 20 minutes, but you will know when the rice becomes soft when the rice starts to open and split.

When the rice is done, add the cauliflower, the green onions, coconut milk, braggs liquid amino, sugar, a generous squeeze of lime juice, water, and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 3 minutes. Taste and add some black pepper if needed.

Ladle into a bowl and garnish with some basil and cilantro, and red pepper flakes (if you are using them for extra spice) , and you are ready to eat!

Afterthoughts:
I can't express how nice it was to eat this soup on a cold day. One thing that i learned is that you will want to experiment with different curry pastes because some are hotter than others. The one I used said medium spice, but it really was mild. If you prefer to give it a little kick.. add the red pepper flakes, or even some cayenne pepper. I most always use braggs liquid amino instead of soy sauce because it's less in sodium, but feel free to use soy sauce, tamari, or shoyu if that is what you prefer. You can also use whatever grain you have in the cabinets. I used wild rice, but how about quinoa, soba, or orzo? You can even add Gardein, tofu, or edamame. Those would work too. If you are looking for a warm, comforting, and soothing soup... this is the one for you! Please let me know what you think!