Soup in the fall is one of my favourites. Make it of the Asian variety and I am even happier. Hot and Sour, Tom Yum Kai, Wonton…yum! I love them all. Hearty with a hint of spice, could there be anything more perfect to eat on a chilly afternoon? I think not, so I was very excited to dig into Michael Smith’s Thai Coconut Curry Soup from his newest cookbook The Best of Chef at Home.
Featuring some of my favourite flavours (cilantro, coconut and curry) not to mention tender chunks of chicken and vermicelli noodles, I figured I couldn’t go wrong. Over-confidence, it was my first mistake. Alas, I suppose I’m due for another do-over since the Butterflied Chicken and Unpreserved Peppers incidents.
Everything started out so well. I called T. and told him to bring soft rolls home to complete our dinner. I read through the directions completely first. I prepped all of the ingredients ahead of time so they were at the ready for adding to the soup. I even made the extra effort to finely chop the cilantro roots.
It was time to get cooking. First I browned the chicken and set it aside, no problem. Then I started my broth simmering. Oh my goodness, it smelled amazing. Dinner was rolling along so nicely I even had time to read a bit of my book. It was very relaxing.
Then it came time to add the noodles. I guesstimated the amount, my critical error. Within minutes my soup was transformed into, well, a noodle dish. Sigh. Bye-bye broth. Alas, at least it should still taste OK, I thought (and it did, even better) and I'll have my soft rolls to cheer me up from my errors.
It was then that T. walked in proud as a peacock bragging to me about how he searched out the softest rolls in the store. For a moment I was confused, rice-paper rolls are always soft unless… Ta-da! He produced a bag of fresh-from-the-oven buns and my dinner debacle was complete.
Have advice or a tip on how I can improve my skills or this dish? Leave me a comment below. I would also love suggestions for what recipe you'd like me to try next. I can't wait to hear from you!
WIN a cookbook library!
Read Sarah's Space every Tuesday in the month of October, leave a comment and you'll be entered to WIN this cookbook library valued at more than $100: Everyone Can Cook for Celebrations by Eric Akis, The Provencal Cookbook by Guy Gedda, The Best of Chef at Home by Michael Smith and Cooking From Above: Asia by Jody Vassallo. Click here for full contest details including rules and regulations.