Coconut Curry Soup with Shrimp and Scallops

This delicious soup has layers and layers of flavor with a little bit of sweet and a little bit of heat. Packed with shrimp and scallops, this is a perfect pescatarian soup. It’s salty, sweet, hot, smooth, creamy, luscious, and yet filling, thanks to the seafood protein that’s added in the final few minutes (okay, plus all the veggies I packed in).

I always have a tendency to overpack my soups to the point of overflowing but they’re such a great way to showcase veggies so why not load up when you can? In this rendition of my soup, I added sweet bell pepper, asparagus, and broccolini but it’s really lovely with a variety of vegetables so be sure to substitute your own favorites.

Coconut Curry Soup with Shrimp, Scallops, and Vegetables Recipe

• 2 Tablespoons canola oil (I use non-GMO canola oil but you can also substitute coconut oil, grapeseed oil, or peanut oil)
• 1/2 sweet red bell pepper, thinly sliced (use orange or yellow pepper for a substitute)
• 12 asparagus spears, bottoms peeled or removed, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 broccolini stems, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-inch chunk of fresh ginger, minced
• 6 cups vegetable stock
• 1 Tablespoons green curry paste
• 1 14oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 teaspoons fish sauce (I like Red Boat brand)
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar (not packed)
• 1 lb. large shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 12 oz, sea scallops, cut in half (be sure to remove the small muscle from the sides and discard)
• Juice of 1-2 limes, about 1 tablespoon
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 6-8 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

Directions

• In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat the oil for about 2 minutes.
• Add bell pepper, asparagus, and broccolini and stir well.
• Saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in garlic and ginger and cook 2 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
• Add stock, curry paste, coconut milk, soy sauce, fish sauce, and brown sugar and stir well.
• Bring to a simmer and then let simmer for about 5 minutes, to really let the flavors come together.
• Stir in shrimp and scallops and cook for 5 minutes more.
• Remove from heat.
• Stir in fresh lime juice, sliced scallions, basil and serve.

There are so many substitutions and/or additions you can make with this soup so please, please, don’t be afraid to play around with it. As I’ve already mentioned, feel free to mix up the veggies to suit your taste. If you’re not concerned about keeping this a pescatarian dish, chicken stock can be substituted for the veggie stock. I love the fresh taste of green curry paste in this but it’s also divine with red curry paste. If you only have bay scallops, you can certainly use them here. Sea scallops add a meatier feel to this but who doesn’t love bay scallops? They’re just as delicious, just a little lighter taste.

If you want to make this a shellfish-free soup, add some meaty cod, bass, or other white fish to it; just be sure to cut it into chunks before stirring it in at the end. I love fresh basil with this but another delicious option is cilantro, so you can even mix up the herbs here.

If you love your food spicy, don’t be afraid to add in a little more curry paste, just be sure to do it in small increments so you don’t end up with an inferno. I do have to say that the lime juice at the end really brightens this up and brings it all together. Can you do without it? Sure..but don’t unless you have to.

So there you go…a delicious seafood coconut curry soup with vegetables. Delicious, right? Okay, so it may be more like a coconut curry stew when you’re done but trust me when I tell you that you’ll love it anyway.

Enjoy!