Introducing Creativity To The Alternative Diet: Many of us have segued from traditional dietary lifestyle to alternative dietary lifestyles, i.e. Gluten free, Vegan, Grain free, Real food, etc. What are we discovering?? These recipes are NOT mediocre!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Thai Chicken Coconut Soup


First of all, Happy New Year fellow Chic Chefs! Cheers to an upcoming year of creative new recipes, funny cooking stories, and blatantly honest reviews!

So my soup recipe is very simple, in fact I am going to recommend that you purchase a store bought soup base for it if possible (because of the amazing flavor it adds), but nevertheless it is the soup I most look forward to on cold days, and it makes for a great
weeknight meal. Jeremy and I first discovered this soup at a surprisingly authentic Thai restaurant in town, and we have been recreating it at home ever since. The recipe is a combination of instructions from my "Quick & Easy Thai" cookbook and additions that we have stumbled upon. Enjoy!

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup


1 packet "A Taste of Thai Coconut Ginger Soup Base"** (available at Fred Meyer)
1.5 cups coconut milk
1 or 2 chicken breasts, cut in large chunks
1.5 cups chicken broth
2 stalks lemongrass, cut in 1 inch sections
6 wild lime leaves torn (optional)
1 piece of ginger or galanga, peeled and sliced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced or halved
1/2 sweet yellow onion, cut in wedges
1 yellow summer squash or zucchini, sliced
1 tablespoon lime juice
coarsely chopped cilantro for garnish

Combine coconut milk and soup base over medium heat. Add chicken and cook 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and next 5 ingredients (through zucchini). Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through and veggies soft (10-20 minutes). Stir in lime juice and cilantro. Serve in a bowl over jasmine rice or with a round of bread.
* If you can't find the soup base, use extra lime juice and also add 2tbl fish sauce just before serving.
NOTE: It is easy to overcook the chicken in this recipe, so keep your simmer low and don't dice the chicken too small.

8 comments:

carrie said...

Yum! Can't wait to try this....after the meatball soup...oh and the broccoli cheese soup!

Nikki said...

Tisha I HATE coconut! Maybe i will try Carries first then make up my mind if i'm going to make it or not!

Eva said...

I am excited to taste this soup, it sounds so good to me!

Rachel said...

TISHA! This sounds so good! I can't wait!!!!

Tisha said...

So Nikki, Jeremy hates coconut too, but he likes coconut milk. If you haven't tired it before, you should give it a try. But I understand if you just can't handle it. : (

Cahill Clan said...

Ok, so I am so excited about this!!!! I am going to have to wait a few more days to make it but I can't wait! Funny thing.... before this blog I most likely wouldn't have tried this cuz I like Nikki am not a coconut fan, HOWEVER due strictly to the tofu thai curry we made (which coincidently I now make at least 2-3 times a month)I CAN'T WAIT TO MAKE THIS!!!!!!!

Michelle said...

I LOOOOOVVVEEE coconut. I want to try this soup ever so badly but I can NOT find the Taste of Thai soup base. . .grrrr.

Michelle said...

I finally made this soup. I liked all the chunks in the soup but I wasn't a huge fan of the broth. My husband and my sister-in-law LOVED it (which I was happy about so I didn't have to make a second dinner).

I had such a hard time finding the Thai soup base so I ordered it online. The crazy thing is that I had to buy a case of 12 and there are two packets in each package. Long story short - are there any recipes that need that soup base I have 23 more to go!