Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • 1 lb. ground chicken (or ground turkey)
  • 1/4 cup panko (or other dried or gluten-free bread crumbs)
  • 2 Tbsp cilantro (finely chopped)
  • 1 tsp lemongrass paste (optional)
  • 1 Tbsp fish sauce
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 Tbsp cooking oil
  • 1/2 cup onion (diced)
  • 2 bell peppers (cored, seeds removed and roughly chopped)
  • 1/4 cup jalapeno pepper (diced)
  • 13.5 oz coconut milk ((400ml) regular or lite)
  • 1 Tbsp Thai red curry paste
  • 1 tsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp Sambal Oelek (or Asian Chili Garlic Sauce)
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 3 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch (add 1 1/2 Tbsp if using lite coconut milk)
  • Juice of 1/2 lime
  • 1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
  • 3-4 cups baby spinach
  • Salt (to taste)
  • Additional chopped cilantro
  • Lime wedges

Instruction

  • 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 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.