Asian pepper soup with coconut milk – spicy

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 4 large bell peppers, red, yellow or orange
• 2 m.-sized onion(s)
• 500 g chicken breast fillet(s)
• 400 ml coconut milk
• 1 liter chicken broth
• 1 piece(s) ginger (walnut-sized, approx. 15 – 20 g)
• chili flakes
• Olive oil for frying
• salt and pepper
• possibly turkey breast fillet(s)
• possibly potatoes
• possibly sweet potato(s)
• possibly vegetable broth
• possibly sweet cream

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 45 minutes

with many variations: vegetarian, vegan or with chicken

Wash the peppers, cut them in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Place the pepper halves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, skin-side up, and bake at 200°C for about 15 minutes. The peppers should bubble profusely. Once cooled, peel off the skin and cut the pepper flesh into smaller pieces. While the peppers are in the oven, wash the chicken breast fillets and pat dry. Cut into bite-sized pieces and fry in olive oil until crispy. Peel and dice the onions, and fry them in olive oil. Place the fried onions in a pot, add the pepper pieces, and fill with half of the broth (for the lazy among us: instant broth is perfectly fine). Peel the ginger, finely grate it, and add it to the pot. Purée everything with an immersion blender until creamy. Top up with the second half of the broth and add the coconut milk. Adjust the amount of broth so that the soup remains nice and creamy. 1 liter is only a guideline, which depends heavily on the size of the peppers and onions. Add the chicken pieces and season with salt, pepper, and chili flakes (amount according to preference). Bring to a boil briefly, then simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes over low heat (this also helps evaporate excess liquid if you miscalculated the amount of broth). The recipe can be varied according to your preferences and supplies. The chicken can easily be replaced with turkey. If you don’t particularly like the coconut flavor, you can simply use the same amount of heavy cream instead of coconut milk. However, this will reduce the soup’s distinctive Asian flavor. If you don’t like it very spicy, you can omit the ginger altogether. For vegetarians, the soup can be made with potatoes or sweet potatoes instead of meat. Instead of chicken broth, use vegetable broth. The soup also tastes very good in a vegan version (vegetable broth, coconut milk, without meat, and without heavy cream). Of course, you can also use potatoes and meat together. This makes the soup thicker and richer. I’ve tried all the combinations listed – the soup always tastes great and is well-received.