Baby is cold outside, and you know what that means… SOUP!!! I love soup! Soup is perfect, its comforting, fulfilling and gives you so much warmth. Seriously is there anything better than returning from a cold hunt to a big bowl of soup? No I didn’t think so.

With soup on the brain, cold weather and a freezer full of freshly hunted quail. I decided to make a noodle based soup. I don’t know about ya’ll but I absolutely love Asian flavors. From Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai to Indian. This is was inspired by my love for curry and adoration for Ramen….which means I was craving both so I had to fulfill both my cravings some how. So I came up with this awesome Coconut Curry Quail Soup, which turned out to be a real winner! 

The combination for red curry with coconut milk is just outstanding in my book. The subtle notes of the lime leaves, heartiness of the noodles and sweet poached quail will make you want to repeat this recipe in your kitchen!

Coconut Curry Quail Soup:

Ingredients:

4 Quail, whole, rinsed

2 cans (14-ounce each) Coconut milk

2 TBS Thai curry paste

1 bunch of cilantro leaves, rinsed well, use half the stems and chop the rest

2 cups Chicken Broth

3 Carrots, shredded

1TBS Ginger, chopped fine.

4 or 5 lime leaves

2 stalks of lemon grass, halved lengthwise, woody leaves removed

2 tablespoons Fish Sauce

Zest and juice of 2 Limes

 8 ounce package Rice Noodles

2 or 3 Green Onions, thinly sliced

Sprinkle of Soy Sauce

 In a large soup pot combine the Quail, Coconut Milk, Thai Curry Paste, ½ of the Cilantro Stems, Chicken stock, Carrots, Lime Leaves, Lemon Grass and fish sauce. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 25-30 minutes. You want to gently poach the quail in the coconut broth. After the quail is tenderly poached gently remove them from the pot and set aside. Add the fish sauce and lime zest to the broth. Then add the rice noodles, and turn off the heat. Rice noodles don’t need to cook they just rehydrate. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add the quail back to the pot.

To serve: Place 1-2 Quail in the bowl, and top with noodles and broth.  Garnish with chopped cilantro, green onions and a sprinkle of soy sauce. Use chop sticks to peel the quail meat off the bones to eat with the noodles. Then Enjoy!