Thai Chicken Soup
With the rainy dreary weather we’ve been having lately; I’ve been in a soup mood. But I’m tired of the same old soups I’ve been making for years. So I’ve been branching out and trying new recipes. This one is a keeper. I loved it.
When I have a chance to go out for Thai food I love to order their chicken soup. I really wanted to try to make it at home and it turned out wonderful.
1 1/2 lbs chicken – I used two chicken breasts
2 T veg oil
3 stalks lemon grass – I used lemon grass in a squeeze tube I found in the produce dept
4 medium shallots – I didn’t have shallots so I used a small onion
8 sprigs cilantro – a must have
3 T fish sauce – the stuff stinks, but get past the smell cause it makes a difference if the recipe
4 C chicken broth – I used the paste from Costco added to water
2 cans coconut milk
1/2 pound white mushrooms sliced
1 T sugar
3 T lime juice
2 tsp thai red curry paste
Garnish
1/2 c cilantro leaves
2 fresh jalapeno or thai chiles seeds and ribs removed – I skipped this and it was just fine
2 green onions sliced thin – a must
1 lime cut into wedges for squeezing into soup – a must
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil and brown chicken. Remove chicken and to the same pan add the lemon grass, onions, cilantro sprigs and 1 T of fish sauce and cook for a minute or if you’re using fresh lemon grass then cook till lemon grass softens. Stir in broth and 1 can of coconut milk scraping up any bits. Add the chicken back and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 mins. Stir the remaining can coconut milk, the mushrooms, and sugar and cook over medium heat about 3 mins till the mushrooms are tender.
Whisk the lime juice, curry paste and 2 T fish sauce together. Off the heat, whisk the mixture into the soup. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro, chiles, and green onions. Serve with lime wedges.
Super yum. We ate the whole pot in two days. Even my husband who doesn’t usually like thai food gobbled it down. It was just the right amount of spicy from the chile paste..