Categories
SOUPS/SAUCES/CONDIMENTS

Thai spiced chicken and coconut soup

This is a spicy and creamy soup and it is essential to poach the raw chicken in the broth for more flavor.

THAI SPICED CHICKEN SOUP

The soup:
2 tablespoons/30 ml vegetable oil
2 skinless free-range chicken breast fillets, cut into narrow strips
5 cm/2 in fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 stalk lemon grass, hard outer skin removed and chopped finely
1-2 teaspoons/5-10 ml mild red chilies, finely chopped
2 cups/500 ml coconut cream
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons/30 ml Asian fish sauce (also known as Nam Pla, available in well-stocked supermarkets)
lime or lemon juice to taste

The garnish:
coconut shavings
½ cup/125 ml fresh coriander leaves
sliced red chilies (optional)

In a medium sized saucepan, heat the oil and lightly fry the ginger, lemon grass and chilies, then add the coconut cream and chicken stock and bring to the boil.  Add the strips of chicken, fish sauce and lemon juice and cook for another 5 minutes. Check the seasoning.

To serve:
Pour the soup into warm soup bowls and garnish with coconut shavings, fresh coriander and extra chilies (optional).

STELLA's avatar

By STELLA

I have had no formal chef’s training. Classical piano was my parents’ choice, and that took care of the first 20 years of my life. Journalism and radio followed (my own choices, this time), and these opened many doors for me into different countries, people, cultures — and, of course, foods. In a six week series on radio I used it as a platform for my love of food and shared lots of interesting recipes and food news with listeners.
My earliest memories of food come from the family kitchen at home; I can still remember the wonderful smells of the dishes my mother prepared. I became aware of the flavors of her creations at an early age. Some I enjoyed and preferred, while others depressed me with their lack of interesting flavors. My mother was a good cook, but not a gourmet, and sadly this often showed. What I did appreciate was that she always involved me in the preparation, sharing her knowledge of nutrition, flavor, color, and the harmonies of each plate she dished up. She was also a genius with leftovers and quick meals when unexpected guests arrived. This is one of the things that stands out in my mind, and it inspired me to create wonderful dishes from leftover foods myself.

I carried on with the tradition of carefully planning meals to combine nutrition, color and flavor, while at the same time offering variety and elegant presentation. In the process, I developed a passion for seeking out the best available products, adhering to each season’s offerings, and treating it with the respect it deserves, which eventually became part of my daily culinary life and travels. I did these things not because I wanted to become a chef, but to satisfy myself, family and friends with creations of gorgeous food and exciting flavors. All of which, I hope, is reflected in this blog.