So, determined to end this tug-of-war, I decided to give a little to get a little (in simple terms, a healthy compromise). From my side I broke my meatless meal rule – but I did opt for very lean meat. And for his part he agreed to a ‘more veggies with a little meat’ dish (which was great!) The peace having been brokered, I made a Thai-style meatball and rice noodle soup, which all parties were more than happy with.
Rice Noodle and Skinny Meatball Soup
A clear yet satisfying meatball soup
Ingredients
- 150 g extra lean beef or chicken mince
- 1 fat garlic clove minced fine
- 2 tsp basil chopped fine
- 1 tsp Thai red curry paste
- salt
For the soup
- 700 ml chicken stock
- 150 g flat Thai rice noodles
- 2 carrots cleaned and chopped into ribbons with a potato peeler
- 2 green peppers thinly sliced
- a small handful fresh basil leaves
- 3-4 green onions sliced stalks and all
- 3 kaffir lime leaves
- 2 tbsps Thai fish sauce
- 1 tsp fresh green chillies sliced thin
Instructions
- Using your hands, mix all the ingredients for the meatballs and shape into 12 small balls.
- Bring the stock to boil along with the lime leaves in a large pot and reduce to a medium simmer before adding the meatballs and vegetables.
- Simmer for 3-4 mins; the veggies should be half done and the meatballs will be almost cooked. Now add the noodles, basil leaves and fish sauce. Cover the pot, turn off the heat and let the noodles cook in the hot soup.
- After 10 minutes remove the lime leaves and serve sprinkled with fresh chillies.