These peppers were calling to me at the farmer’s market yesterday. Today, one lucky pepper will become part of my Thai Chicken Soup. Thai food is super yummy. As a holiday gift, my daughter Melanie and I will be taking a Thai Street Food cooking class at the Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC. Classes like this may seem pricey, but they can inspire you to cook out of your comfort zone and help you to stay out of a food rut! I highly recommend cooking classes.
To make this soup, you may have to visit an Asian grocery or the ethnic food aisle of your supermarket. Fish sauce is necessary, its a wee bit stinky when you open the bottle, but don’t let that scare you. Toasted sesame oil is another condiment that really gives this soup delicious flavor. I use toasted sesame oil in many recipes. Mung bean sprouts give a wonderful crunch to this soup. Rice noodles make this soup gluten free, I encourage you to play with all the different forms of noodles you’ll find in that ethnic aisle or Asian market. If you want, you could substitute firm tofu cubes in place of the chicken.
Once you’ve got all the ingredients lined up, this is a quick and easy soup
Thai Chicken Soup
2 boxes, 25 fl oz chicken stock or broth
1 chicken breast, cubed
½ tsp turmeric
4 Tbsp fish sauce
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small chili pepper, chopped
1 tsp brown sugar
5 ½ fl oz coconut milk
2 Tbsp lime juice
3 ½ oz mung bean sprouts
1 scallion, sliced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped peanuts
5 1⁄3 oz rice noodles, soaked in water
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Pour the chicken stock into a large pan over a medium-high heat. Add the coconut milk, chopped garlic, turmeric, brown sugar, fish sauce, chopped chili and sesame oil. Season with a little salt and pepper. Mix well and bring it to a simmer.
Once the soup begins to simmer, add the chicken pieces. Stir and bring back to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes.
After roughly 5 minutes add the rice noodles (drained), stir and cook for a couple of minutes.
Finally add the scallions and stir again.
Just before serving, pour in the lime juice.
Ladle some of the noodles into a soup bowl and cover with the soup. To garnish, sprinkle some fresh bean sprouts, chopped cilantro and chopped peanuts over the top of the soup.
