Thai Chicken Soup

This is the perfect chicken soup for cold weather or to help get over a dreadful cold. Winters here in Texas can be brutal for your immune system because we can swing from 80 degrees to 30 degrees and back in a matter of a few days, so having this soup in your repertoire can help when someone in your family comes down with the sniffles.

Starting your soup with a bundle of aromatics like cilantro stems, scallions, fresh ginger, garlic and lemongrass make a wonderful base to build upon. I also like to use rice noodles in this soup to keep it gluten free but if you don't have those on hand, you can use buckwheat noodles (Udon noodles), Chinese egg noodles (Lo Mein noodles), or a few packs Ramen noodles without the seasoning packets.

Thai cuisine balances three contrasting flavors: sweet, sour and spice. This recipe uses carrot for a subtle sweetness, lime zest and lemon grass for sourness (if you can find kafir lime leaves use those instead of the lime zest), and ginger and sambal oelek for spiciness. 

Carrots and mushrooms are traditional additions to this soup but you can add any vegetable you like. 

Serve this soup alongside a plate of fresh herbs such as mint, Thai basil (can with substitute regular basil), cilantro leaves, and sliced scallions. Serve with lime wedges and chili paste (Sambal Oelek). 

Thai Chicken Soup
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, skin removed
8 cups chicken broth
6 cups water
kitchen twine
1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced
4 scallions
1 bunch cilantro, stems and leaves separated
2 limes, zest and juice
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 stalk lemongrass, cut in 3 inch pieces
8 oz. mushrooms, cremini, shitake or button, sliced
4 medium carrots, sliced
1 12 ounce package rice noodles
1 Tbs. fish sauce
salt, to taste
For serving: fresh basil, mint, lime wedges, sliced scallions, sambal oelek 

Directions: 

Clean chicken and remove skin. Using coarse salt, scrub the chicken to remove any impurities. Using kitchen twine, tie up cilantro stems and scallions into a bundle. In a very large stock pot, place chicken, broth, water, cilantro bundle, ginger, lemongrass, lime zest and garlic and bring to boil over medium high heat. Simmer on medium-low heat for 35-45 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked through, skimming any foam that rises to the surface while cooking.

Remove the chicken from the soup and let cool for 10-15 minutes before picking the meat off of the bones. While chicken is cooling, strain the broth with a fine mesh strainer to remove all of the herbs and aromatics. Return broth to a full boil and add the carrots,mushrooms and noodles. Boil of 3-4 minutes (or longer according to the cooking instructions on the noodle package). Add fish sauce, juice of 1 lime, and return chicken back to the soup and season with salt.

Ladle into bowls and serve with fresh herbs, lime wedges and chili paste.