Okay, now we're really in the thick of holiday season. Which means things like having cookies and pancakes for dinner and generally enjoying disgraceful eating habits. But every so often I crave an antidote. I wanted something warm and light, maybe a little spicy, and I thought a soup might help jostle the colds that both Margy and I are dealing with. Plus the poor kid was traipsing around NYC all day and night, struggling to cope with the selfish and illegal transit strike, so she deserved a tonic.
This inauthentic Thai-style shrimp noodle soup came together fast -- by necessity, as I had to run off to rehearsal. My ace in the hole is that I always have shrimp stock on hand. (That's why we eat shrimp so often: I collect their shells! They wait in the freezer until I have enough for a batch of stock.) Basically, I tried a few things that seemed to make sense, and it worked. I might not be so lucky the next time.
I heated about a quart and a half of stock in a pot, and threw in two crushed garlic cloves and a couple of Thai chilies. I let that simmer so the garlic and chili would flavor the broth. When it wasn't getting spicy enough, I slit one of the chilies to let the fiery seeds seep out and spread their influence. I added a few tablespoons of Thai fish sauce too. After 15 or 20 minutes of simmering, I added raw shrimp, parboiled rice noodles, and some spinach leaves, and cooked it for about three minutes until the shrimp were opaque and the noodles were hot. A squeeze of lime and a few cilantro leaves on top brightened everything up nicely. Soon Margy and I were sweating happily and letting our bodies thank us for a break from the holiday madness.
And then we had some cookies for dessert.
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