Today I have made for you , a new soup to me, Thai coconut Lemongrass Chicken soup! I attempted this soup from scratch with no recipe. The story behind this soup is that it screams comfort to me. This soup was a go-to at a local 24 hour Thai restaurant near me at all hours of the night and especially when sick.
This soup tastes amazingly light, smooth and just the right amount of heat . It comprises of notes of coconut , tomato ,lemongrass and lime. I would describe it as broth like packed with vegetables chicken chunks and flavour bursts.
Today , my family were my taste testers . I also tasted the soup and loved it ! Some comments and notes from the tasters were that it needed more chicken pieces and more spice and heat flavours like chili paste maybe ? Personally, I think I could of added more chili and maybe a little less coconut milk because it mellows out the flavours in the soup.
I had some difficulty gaging my cooking temperatures because of the chicken inside the soup. This soup is a slow cooker for sure. It has to be at a simmer so that all the flavours like the lemongrass and the milk can be infused with the tomato. I slow simmered it for about an hour and a half to assure that the chicken would not be rubbery and tough. Patience is a virtue. This might be the one thing i do differently. By adding the chicken later on in the cooking process maybe the chicken will be more tender and shreddable. Id add a smidge more chili and fresh basil instead of dried. I hope you like this very simple and easy recipe. :) Tell me how it goes and what your favourite comfort soup is ...! ( Recipe follows)
- Lemongrass - handful , dried and tied with twine
-Chicken Breast 1, medium sized
-Broth 1.5L Chicken and vegetable
- Basil fresh, 3 leaves (thai preferred)
- Cocktail Tomatoes quartered
-Salt and pepper to taste
1. Sautee and sweat aromatics ( garlic , onions ,leeks and ground ginger)
2. After 10 minutes , add chicken breast sliced and tomatoes ,mix and cook on medium for 5-7 minutes.
3. Add Broth and lemongrass and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour.
5. In the last half hour , slowly add a coconut milk, basil ,spices and herbs.
6.Simmer for half an hour more ,casually stirring.
7. Soup is done when chicken is cooked through and tender.
