Red Curry Chicken Noodle Soup and a little bit about the Chicago Bears

Perfect Pairing:  Garbage disposal cleanup          

 

Chicago was at its finest this weekend!  The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and I think that puts everyone in a fabulous mood.  I had a great weekend with friends and family.  On Saturday I made my annual trip to Gethsemane, an extraordinary nursery that spans an entire block.  I have written about my garden woes in the past.  I am determined to make things grow this summer.  We took home our fair share of flowers and herbs!

Saturday night I was lucky enough to attend my 4th Chicago Bears Care Gala at Soldier Field.  This was the 18th year, and they have earned over $10 million towards cancer research.  The gala is always fantastic.   This year was certainly no exception!  Everything including the food, entertainment, and auction is flawless.  Getting solo access to the field is pretty amazing too.

 

I was lucky enough to go on a private tour of the locker rooms with some of the players.  Here are some of the highlights!

Entering hallowed ground....

Martellus Bennett was kind enough to act as our unofficial tour guide.  He was great!  He definitely had everyone laughing.

I don't think I look like a natural in these things.

I can always count on my mom to promote my cooking blog.  When Martellus talked about cooking, my mom was all over it.  He was kind enough to act interested and even asked me to email him the site!  Just another one of the highlights of my night!

I think it is safe to say we all geeked out over meeting Brandon Marshall!

I even walked away with some game gloves! 

Obviously, it was a pretty special night and I feel so honored to be a part of it.  

Anyway, back to the soup!  About a year ago I wrote about this Thai Chicken Noodle Soup. 

 

My original plan was to make that soup again but it evolved into this Red Curry Chicken Noodle Soup.  They are very similar, except this version does not use coconut milk, so it is a bit lighter.  It would be a great soup for summer.  It is spicy and full of bright flavors.

You will have a few juiced limes after making the soup, so toss them in the garbage disposal to clean it a bit.  I think this is a pretty common trick but I am always surprised at how much it freshens it up. 

The perfect pairing from the coconut version works here as well.  Use tongs to pick up the noodles after they have cooked and snip with kitchen shears to make the soup easier to eat. 

Red Curry Chicken Noodle Soup

Lindsay at Perfecting the Pairing

Printable Recipe

 

Ingredients:

·         2 tsp vegetable oil

·         3 Tb Thai red curry paste

·         2 quarts reduced sodium chicken broth

·         1 stalk lemongrass, quartered, lightly smashed with the back of the knife

·         1 dried Kaffir lime leaf (optional)

·         3 Tb fish sauce

·         2 Tb sugar

·         Juice of three limes

·         2 cups chopped, cooked chicken

·         15 oz can of straw mushrooms, drained and rinsed

·         3.5 oz thin rice noodles (also called rice sticks)

·         ½ cup chopped cilantro

Directions:

Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the curry paste and combine with the oil until it sizzles.  Add the chicken broth, whisk to combine with the curry paste.  Add the lemongrass, lime leaf, fish sauce, sugar, and lime juice.  Allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Remove the lemongrass and lime leaf.  Add the chopped chicken, mushrooms, and rice noodles.  Bring to a simmer, cook the noodles according to package directions.  Before serving pick up the noodles with tongs and snip with kitchen shears for easier eating.  Garnish with cilantro.

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