Thai Red Curry Creamy Tomato Soup with Rice for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

We got lucky with our hurricane watch this holiday weekend as Lester moved further away from the islands and we didn't get the storm-force wind and rains expected. Still the many bursts of rain we are getting make this a good weekend for reading and enjoying a bowl of creamy tomato soup.

I was craving Thai flavors (when am I not craving Thai food?) and although I have made tomato soups with ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime and other Thai ingredients before, the bottle of Thai red curry paste in my fridge caught my eye and I decided to add it to my soup for an extra flavor boost, along with Sriracha for some heat. This soup is vegan, creamy and flavorful and gets some bulk from serving it with long grain rice to stir in and absorb the rich tomato soup. 

(My current read and part of my TBR stack in the back)

Thai Red Curry Creamy Tomato Soup 
By Deb Christensen, Kahakai Kitchen
(Makes 4-6 Servings) 

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp ginger, peeled and grated
2 lemongrass stalks, tough leaves and outer skin removed, chopped and bruised
4 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped (optional)
2 heaping Tbsp red curry paste
1 pinch coconut or brown sugar
2 (14.5 oz) cans fire-roasted red tomatoes, undrained
1 'non-chicken' soup stock or bouillon cube (optional) 
1 can (15-oz) coconut milk
1 tsp vegan fish sauce, regular fish sauce or soy sauce
Sriracha or your favorite hot sauce to taste
lime juice to taste
Thai basil leaves to garnish

Heat olive oil in a medium-large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. When hot add shallots and saute for a few minutes until softened. Add garlic, ginger, lemongrass, kaffir limes leaves and red curry paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add a pinch of coconut sugar, the tomatoes and their juices and the bouillon cube if using and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 15 minutes for flavors to develop and meld.

Place soup in blender (Note: If you don't have a high-power blender, allow soup to cool slightly and remove the larger pieces of lemongrass, before processing in batches.) and blend until very smooth.

Return blended soup to pot, stir in the coconut milk and gently heat through. Add fish sauce, Sriracha and lime juice to taste. Season with salt and pepper if desired or needed.  

Serve warm, garnished with chopped Thai basil leaves and extra lime wedges and hot sauce on the side if desired. 

Notes/Results: This soup has a wonderful balance of Thai flavors--the savory, tangy, salty, sweet, and spicy notes are all present and accounted for. This would be a great soup for dipping a sandwich in but it also lends itself to rice. I had basmati rice on hand but any cooked rice would work and jasmine rice would be particularly nice with it. This soup goes together pretty quickly and solves both the tomato soup and Thai food cravings in one easy bowl. I will definitely make it again.
  

We have some good friends in the Souper Sundays kitchen who shared some marvelous dishes last week--let's have a look! 

Debbie of The Friday Friends was back with Sausage Tortellini Soup and said, "The broth for this soup is really dark, the beef broth plus the red wine  and tomato sauce made for a  really deep colored base. I didn't use as much wine as the recipe called for, but it was still a deep, more burgundy colored stock than a tomato/reddish color. For some reason that threw me for a loop, but it was very tasty!! Rounding out the pot with spicy sausage, cheese tortellini and Italian seasoning, made for a comforting meal in a pot."

Shaheen from Allotment2Kitchen shared this hearty Garam Masala Turmeric Courgette Dal Soup and said, "Yes I know this is really a Dal, that you eat with roti, chapatti or naan bread, but I like to enjoy it like a soup with a big spoon and some crusty bread, there was definitely something about it that made me feel well. It was also really yummy and hit the spot. I wasn't going to make a point of the turmeric in the Dal, as most South Asian Dal recipes include this ingredient, but I liked how the turmeric dyed and flavoured the courgette pieces".

Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog brought this Healthy Bean Salad In Under 10 Minutes and said, "Thank you Shirley at Gluten Free Easily! I couldn't have asked for a more delicious, health conscious fast and easy recipe for dinner tonight. I just didn't feel like cooking, but needed something quick, yet healthy, for dinner. I found this quick bean salad that can be made in under 10 minutes on Shirley's blog. (Another few minutes for the dressing)."

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor made this tasty Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad and said, "My preference for cucumbers is to have them diced instead of sliced in salads. I chopped a half a cuke and about ¾ pint of cherry tomatoes and a bit of a small onion, maybe a ¼ cup of onion in total. Stir this up gently and drizzle your favorite dressing over the salad. I think an olive oil based dressing works best. It’s that simple. This wouldn’t make a great main meal salad, not enough bulk, but it’s a great little side for a variety of meals."

Flour.ish.en Test Kitchen shared this pretty salad of Figs with Basil, Goat Cheese and Pomegranate Vinaigrette and said, "This salad from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi is hard to beat, combining the incredible sweetness of the figs and the creaminess of young goat cheese. This is a meal by itself, making figs the key player. Think Mediterranean: figs, goat cheese and pomegranate. That's the essence of the dish. ... a recipe for keeps for figs lovers."

 
Finally I have to share the simple but completely delicious Southern Summer Tomato Sandwich I made earlier this week here at Kahakai Kitchen. Just perfectly ripe tomatoes on white bread with (vegan garlic) mayo, tomatoes, (garlic) salt and pepper--it cries summer. Made for a book review, I loved it so much I have been enjoying them all weekend!

 
Thanks to everyone who joined in this week!

Souper Sundays is back with a new format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.)

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you.

On your entry post (on your blog):

• please mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post.
• you are welcome to add the wonderful Souper Sundays logo (created by Ivy at Kopiaste) to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

Have a happy, healthy week!