Thai Inspired Scampi and Rice Bisque

Thai Inspired Scampi and Rice Bisque, the luxury of a rich broth, scampi, and the joyful freshness of Thai spices, makes this one fulfilling and exotic bowl of soup! Bored with your lunch menu? Make up a pot of this bisque, absolutely aromatic and exquisite!

Song of the day: "I'm Good" by David Guetta and Bebe Rexha

Inspired by culture and flavor

I am sure I have mentioned this numerous times, however I am going to say it again. I love cultures, even more so combining the flavors of cultures together to create wonderful fusion notes and textures.

Well, I am so excited because today's recipe is a combination of French cuisine, married with the aromatic brightness of Thai spices. Not only that, but this recipe was really done to help me use up things from our pantry and also in the fridge. We are not ones who enjoy wasting food, so with that, my heart was totally into making something soulful, yet luxurious and delicious! Come, into the kitchen we go, for an exotic adventure of fusion cuisine. Today's recipe, Thai Inspired Scampi and Rice Bisque! Are you ready? Let's go!

Utensils for this Thai Inspired Scampi and Rice Bisque

Here is what you will need for equipment to make this soup:

• Medium soup pot
• Large soup pot
• Ramekins
• Bowls
• Wooden spoon
• Chopping knife
• Sieve
• Cutting board
• Serving bowls with soup spoons

Ingredients list

This is a real vegetable crisper cleaner. A great way to use up what you have in the fridge. Here is what we need for ingredients:

• Carrots
• Onions
• Leeks
• Celery
• Red pepper
• Cabbage (optional)
• Potatoes
• Bamboo shoots
• Cooked rice
• Ginger
• Grated lemongrass
• Bay leaves
• Red curry paste
• Vegetable broth
• Coconut milk or cream
• Fresh basil
• Salt and white pepper

Prepping for this Thai Inspired Scampi and Rice Bisque

I find that being organized and having the ingredients ready to go makes things go so much easier and smoother. That is why I take the time to prep everything. Here is what I do:

• Firstly, I slice up all my veggies. I angle sliced the carrots and celery, to give that oblong look.
• Secondly, slice up the onions, and cabbage, if using. Finely chop the leeks. Peel, wash, and dice up some yellow potatoes.
• Thirdly, wash the bamboo shoots (I have the canned sliced ones), and mince up some ginger. Also, get all your spices ready: red curry paste, grated lemongrass, salt, and white pepper.
• Lastly, peel and wash your scampi, and place in a ramekin or bowl. Don't throw out the shells and tail, we need those!

A seafood bisque needs a seafood broth

No matter what type of soup you make, it s always a great thing to highlight the main ingredient. As for this Thai Inspired Scampi and Rice Bisque, it has seafood (scampi), so we really want to monopolize on that flavor. Here is how we do it:

• In a medium soup pot, throw in some roughly chopped carrots, celery, and onion. Add some sesame oil and vegetable oil. Bring to heat and sauté.
• Add in all the scampi shells and tails and give it a good stir. Time to add your vegetable broth, don't be shy, we are going to need this broth for our bisque.
• Let that simmer for about a half hour. Set aside.

Sautéing adds flavor to the mix

Some people just dump everything into a pot and add water or broth. I like to take the flavor to the next notch by sautéing my veggies first. Carrots, leeks, onions, celery, potatoes, red pepper, cabbage. This really brings out some beautiful caramelization and aromatics especially if you add your bay leaves in.

• Furthermore, you want to get the red curry paste in at this time along with the lemongrass. Get ready, there is going to be a wonderful aromatic exotic explosion.

Straining your broth

One of the key factors or technique in making bisque is to maximize the broth flavor and then to strain it. All those lovely ingredients along with the scampi has developed into a most amazing broth.

• In the large soup pot where we are sautéing the vegetables and added in the spices, place a large fine sieve over the top. Pour your seafood broth into the sieve, and watch as all that lovely broth falls into that aromatic mix! Back on the stove it goes on low heat, cover to cook for a bit.

Time to add the seafood to our Thai Inspired Scampi and Rice Bisque

One thing you want to watch out for is to not over cook your scampi. They become tough and chewy. Not a pleasant experience.

• Our bisque has been simmering on low for about 20 minutes. Now we want to add our scampi. Gently lay them in and stir in gently as scampi are very delicate, we want to preserve that beautiful shape!

What is scampi?

Some may ask is, it shrimp or prawn? Well, neither. Scampi, or langoustine, is from the lobster family and is very popular in the Mediterranean, and other parts of the world. The flavor is sweet with a very supple texture when cooked appropriately.

Quickly add the final ingredients

• The scampi are in, and as we have very little time, in goes our cooked rice, remembering to stir gently and keeping the heat very low.

Some last additions to this Thai Inspired Scampi and Rice Bisque

Just a few more things and this lovely Thai inspired bisque will be ready to eat! This is all we have left to do:

• Break up some fresh basil leaves and sprinkle them in.
• Also add in the sliced bamboo shoots, along with the coconut milk or cream. Another good stir and just a few minutes and this is all ready to ladle into a bowl.

If aroma could speak

There are two things happening here in the aromatics of it all. First there is that lovely nutty sweetness of the coconut combined with the rich exoticness of the red curry. I love the hints of the lemongrass and ginger. Combined with that is that luxurious scent of the broth infused with all the goodness of the scampi. Together it is a breath of pure heaven! Let's ladle us up some in a bowl.

Grab your spoon, time for a taste

Don't you just love running your spoon through the bowl and seeing all those morsels of goodness? We could have pureed some of the broth, however, I like it chunky. It is just delightful in the texture realm of things!

In the end, I am feeling pretty proud of what we have made today, and with that my first spoonful reveals this luxury. The potatoes just melt in your mouth, and there is that certain comfort of rice and potatoes together in a broth. The textures are wonderful, the bamboo offers a delightful crispness, and the scampi are just so juicy and tender.

That broth is so wonderfully rich with the creaminess and nuttiness of the coconut cream, and the seafood backdrop. The red curry hits with just enough spice, and the sweet spicy works so well for me along with hits of freshness from the lemongrass, ginger, and basil. It is definitely so pleasurable to eat!

I just want to say thank you for joining me in the kitchen and cooking together. Always a pleasure! Don't be afraid to try new things. You will never know how good it is unless you try. Most of all, KEEP COOKING!

Try some of our other fusion recipes like Mustard glazed Porchetta with ginger maple cranberry sauce, or Halloumi and vegetable stir fry, and also Indian-spiced Eggplant Ravioli.

Enjoy!

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