Thai-Style Chicken Soup

A fragrant blend of coconut milk, lemon grass, ginger and lime makes a delicious soup, with just a hint of chile.

Whenever you have a roast chicken it is worth using the carcass to make stock. Remove all the skin from the remains of the bird and put the carcass into a large pan. Add roughly chopped onion, carrot, and celery stick, and a bouquet garni. Cover with water and bring to the boil. Skim off the scum and then simmer the stock for 1 hour. Strain through muslin (cheesecloth). Skim of the fat when the stock is cold.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:
5 ml/1 teaspoon oil
1-2 fresh red chilies, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 large leek, finely sliced
550 ml/18 fl oz/2.5 cups chicken stock
450 ml/0.75 pint/scant 2 cups coconut milk
450 g/1 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bitesize pieces
30 ml/2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
1 lemon grass stalk, split
2.5 cm/1 inch piece fresh root ginger, peeled and crushed
5 ml/1 teaspoon sugar
4 kaffir lime leaves (optional)
75 g/3 oz/0.75 cup frozen peas, thawed
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)

Method:

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the chilies and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the leek and cook for 2 minutes longer. Stir in the stock and coconut milk and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Add the chicken, fish sauce, lemon grass, ginger, sugar and lime leaves, if using. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes until the chicken is tender, stirring occasionally. Add the peas and cook for 3 minutes longer. Remove the lemon grass and stir in the cilantro just before serving.

Personal Note: My mom sent me this recipe. I didn't even use proper homemade chicken stock (I know--the horror! Don't tell my parents!); I settled for Le Gout-style chicken stock base. I also fiddled a bit with measurements, since I added ddok I happened to find at the Asian grocer's. The result was a thicker, less pale soup, kind of more like porridge or Asia's spunkier/more energetically flavored answer to shepherd's pie. It had a great balance of flavors--gently hot, savory, zesty/near-citrusy (thanks to the lime, lemongrass, and fresh ginger!), and sweet. Cozy-comforting like chicken soup should be, too. And sinus clearing to boot! Robert loved it.

I'm eating a bowl of it now. Good for a rainy evening.

Quick n' Half Assed Curry

Quick n' Half Assed Curry

4 tsp (or more...I used more) curry powder
1 or 2 onions, chopped
2 or so tomatoes, chopped
1 can of chick peas, drained
Frozen veggies; the amount at your discretion
1 can coconut milk
Hot Thai curry paste (optional)
Pieces of chicken (optional)

Fry the curry powder in hot oil for a bit to release some flavor and aroma. Then throw the rest in, bring to a boil, and let simmer for 30-40 minutes. Serve on top of rice.

Personal Note: I know I know, this is a travesty and real curry is all about simmering for hours to subtly blend spices to sublime effect, etc etc. I know. But sometimes you just want curry at like, 10 pm after work, dammit, and lack the foresight for all of that and need a quick fix. This will do. I don't pretend for a second it's anything nearing the real deal, but yeah. It can hit the spot nicely. I found this on mefi searching for stuff to put on top of white rice--I got an actually decent rice cooker (I've had such bad luck with them in the past; them's complicated gadgets!) for Christmas from my aunt and uncle, and that combined with celebrating Robert's ability to still eat the stuff (he had a diabetes scare earlier this month) means tons of rice. I want to purchase some furikake next.

Oh, by the way, I added some heat to the recipe by tossing in a bit of the green curry paste I have lying around you get at asian and indian food shops. I think without some heat it would have been a lot blander. I also had to deal with the pain in the ass of not being able to find my stash of coconut milk (I know I always have some on hand...grrr...) at the last minute and having to improvise by soaking coconut flakes in hot water and pressing out the "milk." Haha.

Thai Pork Green Curry

Thai Pork Green Curry

Serves 4

It's so easy!

1 tablespoon oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons green curry paste
1 can coconut milk
1 kg (2 lbs.) shoulder pork, diced or pork pieces
1/2 tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped
2 red chillies, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon fish sauce/soy sauce
1/2 tablesp. sugar
2 lime leaves or 2 teaspoon lime zest
Handful basil leaves, chopped
Salt to taste

To cook:
Heat the oil in a large pan. Sauté the onions until well browned.

Stir in the curry paste and cook for a moment or two. Add the coconut milk and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Then add all remaining ingredients including the meat.

Stir well, cover and simmer gently for 40-50 minutes.

Serve with rice or noodles.