I actually went shopping for this one, but it turned out so tasty I decided to post it.
Thai-style hot and sour soup is my go-to meal when I'm not feeling well. There's something magically healing about the chicken, herbs, spices, and general goodness. Hub has a nasty cold, so I thought I would try to make it at home instead of getting take-out for him. I didn't use a recipe, just sort of made it up as I went along. It came out nearly identical to the stuff from our favorite Thai restaurant, so I was pleased!
Ingredients:
3 or 4 chicken thighs, with bones.
1 chicken breast, with bones.
1 onion, sliced thin.
1 carrot, cut into large hunks.
1 or 2 stems lemongrass, cut into sticks and crushed.
a few lime leaves, if you can find them. Remove vein, just use leaves.
Fresh ginger root (about a 3 inch chunk) peeled and sliced thin
1 jalapeno pepper, or a few Thai chilis, sliced thin
Fish sauce
Rice vinegar
1 fresh lime
1 or 2 cans coconut milk (depending on how "coconutty" you want it)
Salt
Fresh black pepper
Cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes (if you want it "hot")
Sliced mushrooms (fresh, please!)
Other "Asian" veggies as desired. I used pea pods, but baby corn, bean sprouts, etc. would work, too
Instructions:
Put the chicken in a large pot that has a lid. Add half of the onion, the lemongrass, lime leaves, carrot, half of the sliced chilis, and the ginger. Add about a teaspoon of salt, and about 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Add cayenne or pepper flakes to taste (you can always add more later). I was in a hurry, so I "cheated" and added one of those chicken broth cup thingies, because I didn't have hours to make stock. You can throw in a can of chicken broth, or a bullion cube if you want.
Add water. I didn't measure, but I'd guess about 8 cups.
Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium, cover and cook until chicken is done and stock has a good flavor.
I don't like fishing lemongrass and leafy things out of my soup, so at this point I strained the stock, put it back in the pan, and stuck the chicken pieces in the fridge to cool off a bit. The carrot chunks need to come out, pieces of carrot mess up the flavor, but the carrot cooked in the broth adds a needed sweetness to the stock.
Return the stock to the pan, over medium-low heat. Add fish sauce (start with about a teaspoon, adjust up by 1/4 teaspoon at a time if needed), rice vinegar (at least 3 tablespoons, then adjust if needed), juice of one fresh lime, the rest of the onion, mushrooms, and any other veggies you want.
Take the chicken meat off the bones, discard bones and skin. Dice or "pull" the chicken into bite-size chunks and add to the soup.
Taste and adjust until the spice/salt/sour blends nicely.
Remove from heat. Add coconut milk. Adjust seasonings again if needed.
It's magical!
