Thai Red Curry Corn Chowder

Sweet summer corn, rich coconut milk and flavorful Thai spices go into this spicy red curry corn chowder.

I definitely have a love-hate relationship with summer. On the one hand, I’m not into the heat. Warm, seventy degree spring temperatures are great. 90% humidity and 90 degree temperatures are yuck. Also, bugs love me. I don’t even have to go outside to get eaten alive by mosquitoes. On the other hand, the extra daylight definitely agrees with me. Also, I’m all about the food.

I finally got some vegetable plants in the ground, so it looks like my 2015 vegetable garden is a go. In fact, I’ve already got a little blossom on my Japanese eggplant plant, and a little green baby plum tomato just starting to spring forth. I was totally on the fence about whether or not I wanted to put forth the effort this year, but I’m glad I decided to go ahead with it. I really enjoyed running out to the back yard on a daily basis last year to pick pieces of my lunch, and I’m looking forward to doing it again this year.

I’m not growing corn in case you were wondering, (do people even grow corn in their home gardens?) and I’m also not growing onions, but just about every other piece of produce (herbs and peppers) found in this soup should be ripe for picking in a couple of months. That’s actually a pretty big deal for the blog, because at least once a week I get started on a recipe, only to realize I’m missing a crucial ingredient, which usually means putting a halt on things and sending my husband off the the grocery store or rushing there myself. It can also lead to panicky situations if it’s late in the day and approaching that critical daylight level where food photos become virtually impossible. Hopefully I’ll be able to run to the backyard for my missing ingredients on occasion.

This is the summer soup. I see a lot of corn chowder recipes circulating during the summer, which totally makes sense, with fresh corn being readily available in those months. I always think of corn chowder as being rich and wintry though. Know what I mean? This corn chowder, while still sweet, delicious and comforting, is perfect for summer. It gets just a bit of richness from coconut milk, which is beautifully complimented by fresh garden herbs and the flavor of some flaming hot Thai red curry paste.

5 from 1 vote

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Thai Red Curry Corn Chowder

Sweet summer corn, rich coconut milk and flavorful Thai spices go into this spicy red curry corn chowder.

Course Soup

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Author Alissa

Ingredients

For the Corn Chowder

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 small or 1/2 large red onion diced
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1-14 oz. can coconut milk
• 4 cups fresh or frozen sweet corn kernels about 4-5 ears
• 2-4 tbsp. red curry paste or to taste (store bought or homemade)
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• salt and pepper to taste

For Serving

• fresh cilantro
• fresh basil
• sliced scallions
• hot sauce

Instructions

1. Place olive oil in large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. When hot, add onion and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Add broth, coconut milk, corn and curry paste. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook, stirring occasionally, until corn kernels are tender, about 15 minutes for fresh corn, a bit less for frozen.
3. Working in batches, blend about half of soup in food processor of blender. Transfer back to pot and stir in red bell pepper. Bring back to a simmer and allow to cook just until peppers are tender, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Ladle into bowls and top with cilantro, basil, scallions, and/or hot sauce.

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