Recipe: Thai Noodle Soup with Shrimp & Pumpkin

This recipe looked so yummy, so I had to try it!

Ingredients

• 8 oz. Thai rice noodles (I found some by Annie Chun at Safeway)
• 1 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
• 2 c. chicken stock
• 1 (13.5-oz.) can coconut milk
• 3 c. cubed fresh pumpkin or butternut squash
• 1 tbsp. Thai roasted red chili paste
• 1 tsp. dark brown sugar
• 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 c. snow peas
• 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp. fish sauce
• Fresh basil, for serving

Directions

1. Cook noodles according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallot and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. Add ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. Add stock, coconut milk, pumpkin, chili paste, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pumpkin is just tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in shrimp and cook until opaque throughout, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in snow peas and cook until bright green, 1 minute. Stir in lime juice and fish sauce.
3. Divide noodles between four serving bowls. Top with soup and basil.

And of course I changed it to make my own version. I didn't bother with the chili paste, lime juice, or fish sauce, since I don't use those ingredients often enough to warrant buying them. I also didn't add the shallot or the sugar since they aren't really necessary. I used coconut oil instead of canola oil, since the recipe calls for coconut milk anyway, and powdered ginger instead of fresh; I used mixed frozen veggies instead of snow peas, and I added curry powder and cubes of red bell pepper for some more flavor.

I recommend using butternut squash instead of pumpkin, since they are usually smaller and easier to work with (not as many seeds to deal with in the middle!). I also bought pre-cooked, pre-peeled frozen shrimp, so all I had to do was defrost them and then add them to the soup at the end. And I topped the bowl off with some shredded coconut as a finishing touch!