Whole30 Tom Kha, or Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup!

This recipe is delicious (if I do say so myself) and I made it several times during my Whole30 with both chicken and shrimp.  Let's face it, I love shrimp and I will always choose shrimp over chicken when I have the choice, unless I can have both!  And to be clear, you can totally have both, if you want to.

What you'll need:

• 1 lb. shrimp peeled and deveined
• 1 leek (or an onion if you don't have one), chopped.  It's important to discard the tough outer leaves and tops of leeks, slice them down the middle and wash thoroughly, because they tend to be sandy.
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 1 knob of ginger (about a 1 inch piece), minced.  
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• (optional) 2 cups green beans, cut into bite-size pieces.  Alternatively or additionally you can use zucchini, or yellow squash or even potatoes, whatever you like!  It's your soup!
• 1 T coconut oil (for sauteing the veggies)
• 1 can coconut milk
• 4 - 6 cups stock (or water if you don't have any).  Use less stock if you want the soup to be thicker and heartier, more if you want to stretch it further.
• salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.
• one lime (zest goes in the soup and then you can use slices for garnish)
• cilantro for garnish
• hot sauce of your choice for garnish

Looks like Michigan!

Start with your coconut oil over medium heat.  Add your leeks and saute until they begin to look translucent.

Add your mushrooms, ginger and jalapeno, saute until mushrooms release their moisture.

Add your coconut milk, stock, and salt/pepper/red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer.

Add your other veggies (in this case, green beans) and your lime zest.  Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the veggies are as cooked as you would like.

Add your shrimp the very last thing, they will cook in just a minute or so.  Once the shrimp have turned pink and are opaque, you're done!  Note: if you are adding raw chicken to the soup, put it in at the same time as the veggies, cut into bite-size pieces, it should all finish about the same time.  If you're adding cooked chicken, add it at the end when you put the shrimp in, you just want it to be hot!

Garnish with lime juice, cilantro and hot sauce (but check your spice level first, I don't want you dying from the heat)!

This soup keeps pretty nicely in the fridge for multiple meals, especially if you don't cook the heck out of the veggies the first time around, so be aware and stay on the undercooked side of things in terms of your vegetables!