Week 22 in the Kitchen ... starts with Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

This has been a busy week in the What about the Food kitchen. How can it be that this year is nearly half over?

My first effort was to make some healthy, tasty soup for a dear friend recovering from surgery. Nothing better than chicken noodle for healing, so how about a little Thai twist.  I was happy with the result and my darling friend gave it her foot thumping happy dance as the sweet and spicy broth aromas filled the kitchen and made their way to her soup bowl.

Fresh Sweet Corn adds a nice touch to this traditional Thai Soup

Other kitchen creations included eggplant and pepper puree over polenta, a mediterranean potato and golden beet salad, pesto chicken and gnocchi with stuffed mushrooms on the side. Oh!  And a splurge on some fresh scallops. So much cooking so little blogging time! I will be getting to these beauties later on, but will tease you a bit with their portraits to admire.

Roasted Eggplant and Red Peppers over Cheesy Polenta

Mushrooms stuffed with sundried tomatoes and fried capers. Pesto Chicken and Gnocchi

Seared fresh scallops with a herb wine reduction.

Click Read More for the Soup Recipe
Thai Coconut Chicken Soup with Fresh Corn
Serves 4-6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 oz Soba Noodles, cooked, rinsed and set aside.
2 stalks lemongrass, finely minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, shredded
4 Kaffir lime leaves
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 14 oz can coconut milk
1-2 Thai chili pepper or serrano pepper, finely chopped (heat to taste)
6 cups good-quality chicken stock
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 ½ cups shredded left over cooked chicken breast, thigh meat
1 ½ cups fresh sweet corn kernels (cut off cob)
2 cups sliced fresh spinach
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chiffonade
pinch ground white pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 cup chopped cilantro/fresh coriander

Prep
Prepare noodles following package instructions, drain and rinse with cold water; set aside. This will be added at the end before serving.
Collect your ingredients and mince, chop and dice so they are ready to add to stock.

Directions
The flavors of this soup is introduced in layers and cooks quickly.

1. Add stock to large soup pot and add lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves and corn bring to a boil and cook over the medium-high heat 5 minutes. This will tenderize the lemongrass and release the oils in the kaffir lime leaves
2. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic, ginger, chili, lime zest, shredded chicken, continue cooking for 5 minutes.
3. Add brown sugar, oyster and fish sauces, stir to combine.  
4. Add spinach, stir and simmer for 30 seconds, just to wilt. Reduce heat to low.
5. Add coconut milk and basil, lime juice and stir to incorporate thoroughly.
6. Taste, add pinch of ground white pepper, add more fish sauce if a more salty flavor is to your liking. Remove kaffir lime leaves.
7. To serve place a serving of soba noodles in soup bowl and pour hot soup over them. Top with generous amount of chopped cilantro. Have some chili sauce available for those who might want it more spicy hot.

Cook’s Tips
Just use the white portions of the lemon grass and wash to remove grit. Finely mince the stalks as it can be very woody tasting otherwise.
I like cooking the noodles separately from the soup as the starches change the texture and consistency of the broth when cooked in the pot at the same time. Additionally, reheated the next day the noodles become “doubly” soggy.
You can get Kaffir Lime Leaves at Whole Foods or Asian markets.