Thanksgiving is a great time for family and friends to get together. There is usually plenty of food which usually results in lots of leftovers, and especially turkey leftovers! Now, while I love turkey sandwiches, there are only so many of them that I can eat. On top of that, after all of that Thanksgiving holiday eating, something lighter like soup for dinner hits the spot!
This is a great way to put a new spin on your leftover turkey. This soup is definitely different from your original turkey dinner, so you won’t actually feel like you are eating leftovers. There is a great Thai restaurant in Toronto (Golden Thai) that makes the most fantastic Tom Kha Gai soup. I beg them for the recipe every time I go in and they always refuse to give it to me. This recipe is close, based on the traditional Thai Coconut soup which is normally made with chicken breasts. If you don’t have turkey, you can use leftover chicken, or just used diced raw chicken and cook it until the chicken is cooked through (about 15 minutes longer). This is also a good dinner in a hurry as it takes little time to prep and cooks really quickly. This soup smells really good when it is cooking so don’t be surprised if you have “helpers” show up when you are making this.
Prep time: 5-10 minutes; Cook time: 20 minutes; Serves: 4 (it is so good I won’t even pretend that it serves 6) Calories per serving: 670 (585 if you use the light coconut milk)
What you need:
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated (I used 1 tbsp jarred minced ginger)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 stalk fresh lemongrass, cut in half and “smashed” (lemongrass is available at most grocery stores, if not, use the peel of 1 lemon)
- 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tsp Thai red chili paste (use green chili paste if you want it hotter)
- 1 can (14 oz/400 ml) coconut milk (I used the premium, you can also use light coconut for a lighter calorie soup)
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 lime, juiced
- 4-5 lime leaves (or 1 lime zest)
- 1 tbsp Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce (optional – I did not use)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 cups leftover turkey, diced
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves with stems, washed (optional)
- fresh basil leaves for garnish
- fresh cilantro leaves for garnish (optional)
What you do:
- In a 5L Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add coconut oil
- Add garlic, ginger, and lemongrass (to smash the lemongrass, bash it with the heel of your knife, you want to ‘bruise” it. You can tell when it is bruised, as you will get a lovely fragrant smell.)
- Cook until garlic is soft and translucent, about 2 minutes
- Add mushrooms and cook briefly, for 2 minutes
- Add chili paste and stir, cooking for 1 minute
- Add coconut milk, broth, lime juice, lime leaves (or zest), and sugar
- Add cilantro (if using) and fish sauce (if using)
- Stir and make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir
- Bring to a boil, reduce temperature to low
- Simmer for 5 minutes
- Add turkey and simmer another 5 – 7 minutes until turkey is heated through
- Remove lemongrass and lime leaves (you can do this as you are serving)
- Serve in bowls, garnish with basil and cilantro
