Curried Coconut Chicken Soup

I made a big pot of chicken bone broth this weekend, and strained it out tonight, so soup for dinner was a no-brainer. Got started kind of late, so I didn't want to do anything complicated. Fortunately, one of our very favorite low carb soups is dead simple, yet rich and luscious. I didn't measure, but trust me, you can eyeball this one:

I put my big saucepan over low heat, and threw in a couple of tablespoons of butter. I crushed in a big clove of garlic (if they'd been smaller I would have used two or three), and threw in a heaping tablespoon of good Madras curry powder. Sauteed the garlic and curry for just a minute or two in the butter, to bring out the flavor. Then I added a quart or so of the chicken broth I'd made.

While that was heating, I stripped the skin off of a big leg and thigh quarter, saving the skin for Chicken Chips*, of course. I dropped the whole leg and thigh into the simmering broth, covered it, and let it cook for a half-hour or so.

Then I fished the leg and thigh out of the broth, stripped the meat off, chopped it up, and threw it back in the pot. Added a can of coconut milk, and whisked in a couple of teaspoons of chicken bouillon paste. (I often use bouillon paste instead of salt in things like this, for the extra flavor.) Thickened just a tiny bit with xanthan, though it was nice and rich already. Let it heat back to a simmer while I...

Sauteed some chopped almonds in butter till they were golden.

Served the soup with the toasted almonds on top. Rich, filling, and so good.

Plus do you have any idea what kind of nutritional heavy-hitter we're talking about here? Chicken bone broth is loaded with gelatin and calcium, and legendary for its healing powers. Curry powder contains, among other things, turmeric, which has shown promise for fighting cancer and Alzheimer's, and is used as an anti-inflammatory, and fenugreek, used in herbal medicine to control blood sugar. Butter has vitamin A, plus antimicrobial and antifungal lauric acid, and cancer-and-obesity-fighting CLA. Coconut milk also contains lauric acid, plus caprylic acid, used as a natural treatment for fungal and yeast infections. Coconut milk is also a good source of calcium -- the almonds add some, too. That chicken is a great protein you already knew, and you've no doubt heard that garlic is beneficial as well.

Oh, and the carb count? If you get three really generous servings out of this, they should each have roughly 6 g of carb with 2 g of fiber, for a usable carb count of 4 g.

This could be quicker, and just as good, if you had some boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh in the house. Just dice it up and throw it in the simmering broth. But then you can't make Chicken Chips!

* Chicken Chips

Take your stripped-off chicken skin and lay it flat on your broiler rack. Add any lumps of chicken fat you might have pulled off the chicken, as well. Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes, or until brown and crunchy. Salt and stuff in your face. Not to be believed.