Thai Coconut Soup with Chicken
Instructions:
A Thai restaurant favorite, easily re-created at home.
4 cups coconut milk
1 cup chicken stock or water
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken, breast or thigh,
cut into 1-inch strips
3 stalks lemongrass, trimmed, smashed, and cut into
2-inch lengths
10 nickel-sized slices fresh ginger
2 fresh chiles, preferably Thai, seeded and minced, or
hot red pepper flakes, to taste
1 cup sliced shiitake mushroom caps (discard the stems
or reserve them for stock) or button mushrooms
3 tablespoons nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
MAKES: 4 servings
TIME: 40 minutes
- Combine the coconut milk and stock in a large, deep pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
- Lower the heat a bit, add the chicken, and simmer until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Add the lemongrass, ginger, and chiles; simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the larger pieces of spices. Return the chicken to the pot along with the mushrooms and heat about 3 minutes. (At this point, you can let the soup sit for a few hours or refrigerate, covered, for up to a day before reheating and proceeding.)
- Turn off the heat and stir in the nam pla, lime juice, and sugar. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, taste, and adjust the seasonings, adding more nam pla, lime juice, or sugar. Garnish with the cilantro and serve.