Thai Green Curry Zucchini & Noodle Soup: Full of Flavor & Color for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

I was looking for a soup with Asian ingredients and flavors this week from one of the chefs we have cooked with at I Heart Cooking Clubs and found this Thai Zucchini Soup from Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbooks Blog. I love how Heidi combines different ingredients and she is as much of a soup topping fan as I am, so I knew I had to make it.

Heidi says that this soup was destined to be a chilled and pureed Thai curry soup but instead, for a few different reasons, she opted to keep it brothy. I'm glad that she did because brothy was what I was craving. Heidi used a scoop of brown rice as her base in the soup bowl, but I wanted rice noodles (sometimes you just feel the need for noodles). Heidi topped her soup with basil oil, roasted cherry tomatoes, pickled shallots, and toasted nuts and seeds, while I went with pan-roasted baby tomatoes (quicker & doesn't require the oven), chopped peanuts, and fresh chives, cilantro, and Thai basil. 

A big bowl of this satisfying vegan noodle soup made for a delicious lunch. My changes to Heidi's recipe (mainly to make extra broth) are in red below.

Thai Green Curry Zucchini & Noodle Soup
Slightly Adapted from Heidi Swanson via 101Cookbooks.com
(Serves 4)

2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 cup sliced shallots or onion (I used 1 large Maui sweet onion)
(I added 5 kaffir limes leaves, torn)
1-2 Tbsp green curry paste, or to taste (I used 3 Tbsp of Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste)
1 can coconut milk (full fat)
6 medium zucchini, loosely chopped (about 5 cups)
1 cup water, plus more if needed (I used 2 cups light veggie broth)
juice of one lime (I used the juice 2 limes)
cooked brown rice, or other grain, or noodles of choice (I used rice noodles)

Topping ideas: basil oil, roasted cherry tomatoes, toasted nuts/seeds, quick pickled shallots, lots of lime, fresh herbs (coriander, basil) (I used pan-roasted cherry tomatoes, chopped roasted peanuts, and fresh cilantro, chives, and Thai basil, coarsely chopped, and lime wedges)

Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, stir in the onions and a couple generous pinches of salt, and sauté until soft. Stir in the green curry paste along with a dollop of cream from the top of the coconut milk and the kaffir lime leaves. Stir well, and sauté for another minute or so, until fragrant. 

Stir in the zucchini and sauté, being careful not to brown, until the zucchini is tender 5-7 minutes, or so. Add the remaining coconut milk and the water or broth, let everything come up to a simmer, and remove from heat. Season the soup with the juice of lime, and salt to taste. It's all about balance here, and the soup should be brothy with strong coconut-lime flavor. 

Serve over a scoop of brown rice, topped with any (or all!) of the toppings suggested, or experiment with your own ideas.

Notes/Results: This soup was delicious and hit all of the cravings I was having for curry. lime, broth, and noodles. I ate a huge bowl and practically licked it clean, and I am excited to have the leftovers later (keeping the noodles separate until serving). It is a good combination of flavors and texture with the noodles and topping. It had the right level of heat for me--enough to feel it in the back of my throat but not too fiery to be able to taste all of the flavor. If you like a spicier soup, add more curry paste to the broth or serve chili paste or Sriracha on the side. I kept it simple with just the zucchini and onion in terms of veggies but you could certainly add your favorites and/or add protein like chicken, shrimp, or tofu, if desired. Really good, quick and easy to make, I will happily make it again. 

I'm linking this soup up to I Heart Cooking Clubs for June's Monthly Dish/Ingredient Challenge: Asian Dishes. You can see what everyone made by checking out the picture links on the post. 

  
We have a few delicious dishes waiting this week in the Souper Sundays kitchen--let's have a look!

Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog shared Weight Watchers 1 Smart Point Soup and said, "I started Weight Watchers ( again) last week, so I'm being more conscious of quantity, calories, and carbs. ( I had gained some weight during April and May when it was cold, rainy, and dreary). ... was looking to see what I could make that  was only 1 Weight Watcher smart point- and this is it!This amazing soup fills me up. has fiber, vitamins, and minerals and is a totally satisfying comfort soup ! Of course it is naturally gluten free which is just the way I like my recipes. It is my version of Chinese egg drop soup. ( I've included a vegan version too)"
 

Claudia of Honey From Rock made Split Pea with Fresh Corn Soup inspired by a book (The Bertie Project by Alexander McCall Smith) and said, "I'd like to serve Bertie this soup, one his Granny might have made for him while Irene was away on her trip.  He wants to go live with his Granny, however there's nothing she can really do about that.  ... The contrast of fresh corn with mushy peas is wonderful.  Perfectly delish and quite comforting if I do say so, especially when accompanied by some freshly baked bread and a good slathering of butter."

Shaheen of Allotment2Kitchen made a unique pasta salad and said, "This Miso Tomato
with Roasted Garlic and Shichimi Tograshi is inspired by a Miso Tomato Soup recipe I saw a couple of years ago. I still intend to make the Miso Tomato Soup with homegrown tomatoes, or even tinned cherry tomatoes, but at the weekend I was inspired to mess with it a little and make a thick sauce for pasta salad."  

Mahalo 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 Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

Have a happy, healthy week. Happy Father's Day!