Coconut Curry Chicken Soup
Coconut curry is one of my absolute favorite winter flavors. It’s so warming and grounding, it’s sweet and savory, the coconut is creamy and comforting. All of it is just so lovely together and it feels effortless. By adding some mineral rich winter squash and protein rich chicken with some broth this just became a super nourishing meal in a bowl. This method of steam cooking the chicken beforehand yields the most wonderful textured chicken that soaks up the broth wonderfully. Use whatever veg you have on hand here and riff on the recipe. You can add chickpeas if that’s your thing or sweet potatoes or white potatoes and serve it over rice or whatever sounds delicious to you!
Ingredients:
Makes 8 servings
Chicken:
4 chicken breasts
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon ghee
Soup Base:
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 onion diced
1 knob ginger, finely grated
3 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 teaspoon salt
1 medium kabocha squash, peeled and cubed (or whatever winter squash you have!)
2 cans coconut milk
4-6 cups chicken broth
juice of 1 lime
Directions:
Season the chicken breasts with curry powder, cumin, coriander, salt, and olive oil and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to a few hours in the fridge. Heat a wide bottomed pot over medium heat and warm the ghee. Place the chicken breasts in the pot and cook on high for two minutes per side then cover with a lid for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes flip the chicken breast and turn off heat and let it sit 10 minutes with the lid still on. This steam cooking method makes for the most tender chicken breasts EVER. Remove the chicken from the pot and give it a quick clean if its quite black on the bottom. Warm it up again over medium low heat and add the butter to warm. Saute the onion, ginger, and garlic with curry powder and salt until fragrant and golden. Add the kabocha squash, coconut milk, and bone broth and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the squash is cooked through. While that cooks, cut the chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and add it back to the pot when the squash is cooked. Add the lime juice and taste for seasoning. Enjoy with a dollop of yogurt on top!
