Thai-Style Chicken Pumpkin Soup

This recipe comes from Best-Loved Slow Cooker Recipes, and this recipe is the reason I bought this cookbook. It didn’t disappoint either. I deviated from the recipe to make it my own, and it was delicious. It’s thick, filling, and tasty. The great thing about this soup is that you can pretty much put anything you like in it…any veggies and any meat or just go vegetarian. Eggplant, zucchini, potatoes and peas would be delicious additions. Be sure your veggies are cut pretty small so they will cook in the lotted time, otherwise you can partially cook them and then add to the crock pot, or add them raw and cook for a few hours before adding the chicken. I wouldn’t just extend the cooking time with the chicken in the crock pot from the beginning, because it will be overdone. It also doesn’t have to be prepared in a crock pot either.

This recipe is called a soup, but I’ve really made it into a Thai curry dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, but into 1 inch cubes (I used 2 breasts)
• 1 large white onion, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 TBSP fresh ginger, minced
• 1/2 to 3/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 TBSP brown sugar
• 1-2 TBSP Thai red curry paste, depending on your heat likes
• 2 stalks celery, trimmed and diced
• 2 carrots, peeled, trimmed and diced
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
• 1/2 c. mango nectar
• 1/2 c. fresh lime juice
• 1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
• 4 c. chicken broth
• 2 TBSP rive vinegar
• 1/2 c. fresh cilantro
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 1 TBSP cornstarch
• Hot cooked rice
• 3 green onions, minced
• 1/2 c. roasted unsalted peanuts

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add onion, garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper flakes, brown sugar, and curry paste; cook for 1 or 2 minutes longer or until mixture is fragrant .
2. Add celery carrots, pumpkin, mango nectar, lime juice, peanut butter and broth in a bowl and stir to combine.
3. Transfer chicken mixture to crock pot; cover chicken with sauce.
4. Cover the crock pot and cook on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
5. Stir in rice vinegar. Mix cream and cornstarch together in a small mixing bowl. Stir mixture into soup. Simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes or until soup thickens.
6. To serve, put rice in soup bowls. Ladle soup around rice. Sprinkle with cilantro, green onion and peanuts. Squeeze fresh lime juice over soup, if desired.

Thai-Style Chicken Pumpkin Soup: