Spicy Thai Chicken Soup
Whenever the weather turns chilly and the sniffles start appearing around our household, it’s a clear sign soup is in order. On this occasion, we ate thai chicken soup made with a slowly simmered homemade chicken stock packed full of veggies, chicken, kaffir leaves, peppers, and other spices. The soup was finished by shredding the chicken and simmering the stock with sliced onions, panang curry paste, and coconut milk, then serving it over basmati rice. Sliced green onions, jalapenos, and cilantro leaves were served on the side to add freshness and a little extra kick to the meal.
A: t, you know how when you first start to feel sick, for some reason your body just screams for chicken soup?
T: yeah.
A: well, that’s the exact reason we got to eat this particular soup! last week my immune system just didn’t want to battle any germs. But a nice healthy dose of spicy thai chicken soup sure did the trick….
T: yeah i’m seriously glad you didn’t get sick… that always sucks. getting sick is for the birds.
A: no joke. and inevitably if i get sick, you’re gonna get sick. so, yay for brothy chicken soup!
T: i don’t know if it is inevitable that i would get sick if you got sick. I do eat a diet exceptionally rich in pork fat.
A: hmm… 🙂 i didn’t know pork fat was a known immune booster…
T: neither did I, but I’ve been eating carnitas for lunch everyday, and I haven’t gotten sick in ages. There might just be something to be said for fatty pork!
A: alright! from this day forth, i shall eat nothing but fatty pork… (in order to keep my immune system up, of course)
T: it takes more than fatty pork to stay really healthy, though… throw in some sour cream and french fries and fatty beef. You’ll be good.
A: yowsers. i don’t know if my immune system is quite ready for this diet! i’m gonna have to slowly ween myself on to this one. i’ll start with eating some bacon tomorrow! i can definately handle this diet.
T: of course chicken soup is another way to stay healthy. I have a question about this particular soup… what makes it a thai soup, and how authentic do you imagine it to be?
A: well, being a white-bred american, i don’t really imagine it’s too authentically thai. but what makes it thai in my mind is the broth… which has quite a strong flavor of kaffir leaves. it also has coconut milk and panang curry paste in the soup… and yes. the panang curry paste is imported. (god i love the 99Ranch)!
T: well i thought the soup was quite tasty. I love the brothy yet milkiness that you get from using the coconut milk. Plus, I love stirring in fresh jalapenos. That makes it a choose your own adventure. I give it a 4.4/5. Super good, probably has some evolving left before it hits the ultimate level though. Whatcha think?
A: i agree, the first time i make something like this is always a learning experience. the outcome always lets me know what i could do better next time. in this case, i would actually have liked to add more panang curry paste (although i didn’t have more). all the fresh add-ins really do make the dish. it’s very similar to Pho in that respect. but there’s nothing like fresh cilantro, green onions and jalapenos. I give the soup a 4.25/5, for pretty much the same reasons. It was definately tasty, but there’s certainly room to grow!
T: you said something about Pho… what is pho, ho?
A: well, bi-atch, Pho is a yummy beef brothy vietnamese soup that is served with similar add-ins on the side, you know, cilantro, jalapenos, etc…
T: sounds like fun times. You know what else is fun times?
A: eh?
T: Burgers. Didn’t you say a while back that you were definately making burgers in the next 2 weeks? I think it’s been longer than 2 weeks… so.. umm… how do i say this.. umm… when are you making some damn burgers woman?
A: if you had let me get a word in, i would have told you that i bought everything to make burgers last weekend (when b came into town), but we just haven’t had time to make them. then i was planning on making them TOMORROW… but now we’ve a brunch date! the burgers are coming… i swear it!
T: to all the guys out there… do you see what I’ve done here? I demanded burgers while making her feel guilty for not making them sooner, and now she’s promising to make some soon.
A: listen here, butt-munch. if you send out any more messages like that, telling men to treat there significant other like that, there ain’t never gonna be no damn burger… you hear me, son?!? 😉
T: I was concerned until you winked. Now I know that you’ll make the burgers no matter what. There’s another lesson for you guys out there.
slapp
T: and don’t worry about being slapped. It’s kind of fun.
A: 🙂 well, i never!!!
T: ok, ok, ok… i would never ever promote being mean or demanding of your significant other. Although being slapped is still kind of fun.
I was sick all last week and had soup at a Vietnamese restaurant very similar to the one you made. Spicy chicken soup with a squeeze of fresh lime made everything better. Well, almost everything. I hope you’re feeling better!
Hey there,
I just discovered this site and am QUITE impressed with your culinary skills, as well as the solid photography. As a foody myself, I have recently began getting more and more into cooking for myself. As a poor college student, its not always the easiest thing to do. But with all of the great food on here, its hard to go out when you can get better results at home. I didn’t see it on the site and am curious if you have any suggestions for newbies in the kitchen
Thanks!
Zach
thanks anna! i am feeling much better (although i work around kids, so who knows how long it will last! 🙂 ) it’s amazing what some good brothy soup will do for you. i hope you are feeling better too!
zach, my biggest advice for newbies in the kitchen is to not be afraid of anything… yeah so what, you might fail a few times. it’s not the end of the world. just taste what you’re cooking as much as you can. use fresh herbs when possible, and dive in head first. there’s only one way to really get experience. i know exactly where you’re at: when we started this blog we were both in college. and frankly, i put my way through college working in restaurants. cheers to many great new dishes coming out of your kitchen soon!
I love thai soup…spicy and milky…but I never liked the lemongrass they put in, so I’m glad to see you omitted it! This looks yummy…can you make it with tofu?
I love spicy Thai soups when I get a cold too. They’re not only an immune booster but a powerful decongestant for those blocked noses…. well they are if you use as much chilli as I do anyway! 😉
Wow this is so nice indeed for this depressing weather we had now in Norway. It’s been raining almost for 2 months particularly here in Bergen and I guess a white christmas is out of the question now
mmm! this looks so good. i love thai chicken soup, i can never find kafir lime leaves you lucky ducks! you should package this and sell it. i’ll take a case!
ps. i’m making your crab cakes but with scallops tonight. i know it sounds like a sacrelidge
Hmmmm….where ever did you get the idea to compare the adding of the goodies to the soup to Pho?
Christina Crews,
Is pho not traditionally served with similar goodies on the side to be stirred in?
oops, tyler, i think i should have responded to christina before you! 😛 christina (who i work with) is talking about a conversation she and i had. and yes…. it is served with goodies on the side!
aria, how cool! perhaps a cool with a side of sacrelidge, but coooool none-the-less 😀 i’ve never thought of making a scallop cake before, but i just love them so i can’t see how it could possible go wrong… and i can’t really blame you for not wanting to die from eating crab 😉
thanks michelle! i don’t see why you couldn’t make it with tofu, just add the tofu at the very last moment (so it doesn’t completely disintegrate). definately a good idea. i’ve been wanting to post the exact recipe that i did, but it seems, in a cleaning rush, i might have thrown my ingredient list away! AAAAAAGH!
Ros, i know exactly what you mean. i’m totally hooked on heat and chiles. there’s just something about spice that makes me feel better 🙂
chase! how depressing! i actually miss rain living here in southern california, where it rains like, twice a year! but two months! straight! i just don’t think i could stand it. boo. 😉
christina, 😉 i imagine if you’ve read my comment to tyler, you’ve had your question answered!
lol. i thought christina was some random person being a bitch. 🙂
hiya,
I just found your site and love it…
Blame it on me suffering from a nasty flue right now, however… but where do I find your actual recipes ??
your site looks lovely !
thanks ellen! i freaking hate flu season! i hope you feel better soon! as far as recipe are concerned, what you see, is what you get for the most part. a few months ago we had a nasty virus attack our site and it gobbled up lots of our recipes (and parts of the posts) and we were newbies enough not to have everything backed up. i’m working on getting up as many of the lost recipes as possible but between work and the holiday season, it doesn’t seem like i’m doing so well! i will try to get this recipe up for you soon so you can eat it and feel better! take care!
thanks Amanda …. ai.. computer or flu virus, they both suck… terribly sorry to hear that you lost so many recipes !!
have a wonderful X-mas and I will for sure try the creamed spinach !
What is the recipe for your soup? Or, where are your recipes posted?? Tks.
I would love to have the recdipe for this soup, where can I find it?
How come I can’t find the recipes to each dish?