Coconut lime soup with scallops (Easy-to-make soup recipes)

 

                You want to minimize your time in the kitchen, this soup comes to the rescue. It contains the hot-sweet-salty-sour flavors that are essential to Southeast Asian cuisines : coconut milk provides weetness, fish sauce adds saltiness, red pepper flakes give it some heat, while lime juice  and lemongrass are tart accents.

6 servings

• 3 stalks lemongrass
• 3 cups chicken stock (click here for recipe)
•  1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1½ cups coconut milk
• 1½ teaspoons Thaï fish sauce
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 12 ounces sea scallops, connective tissue removed and discarded
• Salt
• 3 teasponns lime zest for garnish
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
• 1 lime, cut into 6 wedges for garnish

1. Remove the though outer layer from the lemongrass stalks and discard them ; cut off and discard about an inch of the woody base from each stalk.
2. Starting at the base and cutting up to where leaves begin to branch, thinly slice lemongrass crosswise to yield ¼ cup.
3. Combine the chicken stock, sliced lemongrass, and minced ginger in a medium, heavy saucepan set over medium-high heat ; bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Strain stock through fine-mesh strainer into large bowl ; return broth to pan and discard contents of strainer.
5. Add coconut milk, fish sauce, red pepper flakes, and lime juice to pan and bring to a simmer.
6. Slice each scallop horizontally into three rounds, then cut rounds in half to from half-moon shapes ; add the scallops to soup and cook until opaque and cooked through, for 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Taste soup and season with salt, as needed.
8. Ladle soup into 6 bowls ; garnish each serving with ½ teaspoon lime zest and 2 teaspoons cilantro.
9. Serve immediately with lime wedges to squeeze into soup.

BON APPÉTIT