Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- MAKES 2-3 large, meal-size bowls of Chicken Noodle Soup
- 6 cups good-quality chicken broth (add bones if you have leftover roast chicken or turkey)
- 1-2 cups sliced roast chicken (or turkey), OR 1-2 fresh chicken breasts or thighs, sliced into small pieces
- 1 stalk lemongrass, finely sliced and minced, OR 3 Tbsp. frozen prepared lemongrass
- 3-4 kaffir lime leaves (available in the freezer section of your local Asian/Chinese food store)
- 1 large carrot, sliced
- 1 red chili, minced, OR 1 tsp. chili sauce OR 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, grated
- 2-3 Tbsp. fish sauce
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- white or black pepper (to taste)
- generous handful of fresh coriander
- 8-10 oz. dry flat Thai rice noodles (or enough for each person)
- optional: 1 tsp. sugar, to taste
- optional: baby bok choy or other added greens
Preparation:
For more information on fresh lemongrass, see my How to Cook with Lemongrass.
- Bring a large pot of water to just under a boil and add the noodles. Remove from heat and allow noodles to soak 5-8 minutes, or until soft but still chewy ("al dente"). Drain and rinse briefly with cold water to keep from sticking.
- Using a large soup pot, bring chicken stock to a boil over high heat. Add leftover chicken (or turkey) bones, if available, plus the cooked or uncooked chicken, lemongrass, carrot, and lime leaves. Boil on high for 1 minute, then turn heat down to medium and cover with a lid. Allow soup to simmer for 5-6 more minutes, adding bok choy when chicken is nearly cooked (after 5 minutes).
- Add the chili, garlic, lime juice, galangal or ginger, plus 2 Tbsp. of the fish sauce. Stir well.
- Turn heat down to minimum and add the coconut milk. Stir to incorporate.
- Do a taste-test for salt, adding more fish sauce until desired saltiness is reached (how much you will need depends on how salty your chicken stock was to start with). If the soup tastes too salty: add another squeeze or two of lime (or lemon) juice. Add more fresh-cut chili if not spicy enough, or more coconut milk if the soup is too spicy. If the soup is a little too sour for your taste, add 1-2 tsp. sugar (to balance out the lime juice).
- To serve, place a generous mound of noodles in each bowl, then top with the hot soup, so that noodles are floating in the broth. Finish with a final sprinkling of pepper and fresh coriander.
If desired, serve with Thai chili sauce, either store-bought or my own homemade Nam Prik Pao Chili Sauce Recipe to give your soup an extra kick of spicy flavor. ENJOY!
