1/4cuppanko, or other dried or gluten-free bread crumbs
2Tablespoonscilantro, finely chopped
1teaspoonlemongrass paste, optional
1Tablespoonfish sauce
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Soup:
1Tablespooncooking oil
1/2cuponion, diced
2bell peppers, cored, seeds removed and roughly chopped
1/4cupjalapeno pepper, diced
13.5oz.canned oconut milk, (400ml) regular or lite
1TablespoonThai red curry paste
1teaspoonfish sauce
1teaspoonWorcestershire sauce
1teaspoonSambal Oelek, or Asian Chili Garlic Sauce, to taste
1cupchicken broth
3Tablespoonstomato paste
1Tablespooncornstarch, add 1 1/2 Tbsp if using lite coconut milk
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/4cupcilantro, chopped
3-4cupsbaby spinach
Salt, to taste
Garnish:
Additional chopped cilantro
Lime wedges
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Instructions
Preheat oven to 450F. Grease a baking sheet (or line with foil and grease the foil, for easy clean-up). Set aside.
Make the meatballs: Combine all the meatball ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir to combine. Using a measuring tablespoon, spoon out a rounded scoop and gently roll into a ball. Place onto prepared baking sheet. Repeat until you've used all the mixture. You should have 26-28 small meatballs.
Place into preheated oven to bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the meatballs are at least 165F internal temperature. *If you'd like to have a bit more colour to your meatballs, pop them under the broiler for a couple of minutes.
While the meatballs are cooking, start the soup by heating a bit of cooking oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, bell peppers and jalapeno pepper and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3-4 minutes. *Don't skimp on softening, as the bell peppers won't soften much more, so be sure they are at least tender-crisp (or more, if that's how you like them) before proceeding.
Add the coconut milk, red curry paste, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Sambal Oelek (adjust to taste for heat) and chicken broth. Stir to combine and allow to heat and simmer a bit, until meatballs are ready. When meatballs are ready, add to the soup.
In a small bowl, stir together the tomato paste and cornstarch. Add to the soup and stir, cooking, until soup thickens slightly. Add lime juice and stir to combine. Add the cilantro and baby spinach and stir, cooking, just until the spinach wilts.
Taste the soup and add additional salt, as needed, to really bring together the flavours. *You can also stir in additional curry paste or Sambal Oelek at this point, to taste, if you'd like more of those flavours.
Spoon into serving bowls. Garnish with additional cilantro and serve with lime wedges, for drizzling.
Notes
Even though the fish sauce will add some salt to the meatball mixture, you still want to add a bit more, for best flavour.Be sure to taste the soup at the end of cooking and add salt, as necessary, to really bring out all the great flavours.I love to keep the tubes of tomato paste in my fridge, for small amounts such as in this soup. Look for them in with the tomato paste at the grocery store. So handy!As noted above, while this soup is lovely on it's own, it's also nice spooned over some rice or noodles, for a heartier meal.Make the meatballs ahead, cool slightly, then refrigerate or freeze. This soup comes together super quickly with the meatballs already cooked ahead. Simply add to the soup from the refrigerator or freezer. Once cooked, the meatballs will keep in the fridge a couple of days or in the freezer for a month or so.Be sure to read the Ingredient Notes and Tips above the recipe card, for more tips for making this soup.Nutritional information is for Lite coconut milk.