LV Cooks: Coconut Curry Chicken Soup

I lived at my friend Emily's parents' house for a period of time when I was poor. I had my own room in a beautiful house within walking distance to the Clarendon metro. I paid no rent and had no chores. I was a parasite from July 2009-April 2010. I am 99% sure the reason they let me stay is because every once in a while I would make this soup.

This soup - IS THE BEST. This is my spin on my sister Karen's recipe (posted 5 years ago tomorrow!), who adapted it from this Cooking Light recipe. It's bright, tangy, spicy, delicious, and more or less healthy. The ingredient list might be a little foreign (and long), but once you stock up on the ingredients they'll last forever in the pantry. The whole pot comes together in less than 30 minutes (if you're a fast chopper!).

Make this soup. Make it! Now! Do it!

You'll need:
2 tsp red curry paste (more if you like heat!)
1 thinly sliced small onion (white or yellow)
4 cloves chopped garlic
1 inch knob peeled, minced ginger
2 diced chicken breasts
1.5 tsp ground curry powder
1.5 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground coriander
6 cups (1 carton) chicken broth
14 oz can of light coconut milk
3-4 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 small can bamboo shoots
1 handful pad thai noodles
2 Tbl sugar
2 Tbl fish sauce
1 lime
1 handful chopped cilantro
crushed red pepper

Heat oil (I use coconut) over medium-high heat in a large soup pan. Add red curry paste and let it "bloom" for a minute before adding onion, garlic, ginger, chicken, and the ground spices. Let cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. It'll look something like this:

Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once the soup reaches a boil, pour in a can of light coconut milk. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.