by steamykitchen | Asian, Chicken, Main Course, Recipes, Soup | 15 comments
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
This recipe features:
- Classic Thai flavors, with a smooth, velvety soup
- Amp of the intensityof the herbs with a quick sauté of lemongrass, cilantro stems, garlic and ginger
- Customize soup by addingshrimp or mushroom (canned Asian straw mushrooms work really well)
Southeast Asian cuisine features what I call the 5S’s – salty, sweet, sour, spicy, savory. This classic combination is what makes Thai Chicken Coconut Soupso irresistible – the initial kick of the spicy chile pepper and lime, followed by salty/savory that’s tempered with a touch of sugar. The creamy coconut milk lingers to soothe the spiciness and allows all the distinct flavors to play nicely with each other.
This recipe is from Chef Lorraine Pascale, a #1 bestselling author in the U.K. Her book, Everyday Easyfeatures elegant, fuss-free cooking for weeknight dinners.
Lorraine Pascale is the undisputed queen of the kitchen, queen of the simple and the simply delicious.
Recipes include:
- Thai Beef Salad with Roasted Peanuts and Chili Dressing
- Shrimp Caeser Salad
- Lozza’s Lamb Biryani
- Goat Cheese, Toasted Hazelnut & Honey Quesadillas with Arugula Salad
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Zebra Cake
and many, many more. Each recipe is easy, breezy and complete with a gorgeous color photograph. The Thai Chicken Coconut Soup Recipe is by Lorraine Pascale, photo is also from the cookbook, by Myles New.
Note: Lemongrass stalk can be found at many large supermarkets (look near where they sell fresh ginger.) If you can't find a whole stalk, look for it in a tube. Many supermarkets carry lemongrass already pulverized, ready to use. Gourmet Garden is a brand I've used before (though fresh is still best.) I've also seen minced lemongrass frozen too. Another option - use a vegetable peeler to cut 2 strips of lemon peel (avoid the white, bitter pith, just the lemon skin.) I like to peel a big piece, use my fingers to twist it about to release its oils.
Same for kaffir lime leaves. If you can't find it fresh, try frozen kaffir lime leaves. Another option - peel 2 strips of lime peel. Lime is already in the recipe, so cut the peel first before juicing for recipe.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Servings 4
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil
- 1 stalk 1 lemongrass stalk
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 inch piece of fresh ginger
- Large handful of fresh cilantro
- 3 kaffir lime leaves
- 2 12-oz cans of coconut milk
- 1 cup plus 2 tbsp good-quality chicken stock
- 1 red chili
- 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 1 bunch of green onions
- 2 limes
- 2-3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1-2 teaspoons sugar
Instructions
Heat a drizzle of oil in a large frying pan or wok on a medium heat.
Trim the lemongrass stalk and discard any tough outer leaves before finely chopping the white bit (discard the green bit as it can be quite bitter). Peel and finely chop the garlic and then peel the ginger and cut it into thin slivers. Tear the kaffir lime leaves in several places on the leaf (but keep the leaf intact.) Chop the stalks off the cilantro (in one go) and then finely slice them (keeping the cilantro leaves aside for later).
Carefully toss everything in the hot oil with the kaffir lime leaves and stir fry for a couple of minutes, being careful that nothing sticks and burns.
Next add the coconut milk and stock and bring to a simmer.
Meanwhile, halve the chili lengthwise and then finely slice it, leaving the seeds in if you like it quite fiery. Chop the chicken into bite-size pieces and add both ingredients to the now-simmering soup. Reduce the heat a little and leave it to bubble away for about 8 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
Finely slice the onions (both the green and the white bits), juice the limes and roughly chop half of the reserved cilantro leaves. Add these once the chicken is cooked and then leave to simmer for a final minute. Last, add enough fish sauce and sugar to taste.
Ladle into four serving bowls, scatter the remaining cilantro leaves over and serve.
Notes
From Everyday Easy by Lorraine Pascale
Text copyright 2012 by Lorraine Pascale. Photographs copyright 2012 by Myles New. Excerpted by permission of Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a review in the comment section! I always appreciate your feedback and I know other readers do, too!
Stay in touch with me in our Facebook group, on Pinterest or follow me on Instagram! Sign up for my email list, too where we chat all things recipes, tips, giveaways, and more!
Frank Appel on 1/25/21 at 7:10 am
This looks like a great recipe!
Reply
mary on 10/7/18 at 8:08 pm
Just SO yummy – this is the perfect Fall soup – thanks for a great recipe!Reply
Esther Price on 11/18/15 at 3:00 am
Wow, this looks amazing. I
Reply
Anuprita on 7/1/15 at 1:42 pm
Nice recipe easy to make. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Reply
Janene on 5/13/15 at 7:24 am
This is my favorite dish.
Thanks for sharing.Reply
Ellen Scott on 4/25/15 at 6:00 am
I love your site for recipes that are completely different from what I normally cook! I’m going to have to give this a try.
Thanks!Reply
Elyzabeth on 4/23/15 at 10:33 am
I think it looks great! Definitely enough to make me want to try it! Thanks!
Reply
Uneku on 4/17/15 at 3:51 pm
This looks very tasty..Beautiful blog
Reply
Betty Ann Quirino on 4/5/15 at 5:27 pm
It’s such a simple soup but the flavors have all the Asian aromatics I love. I like that the rich coconut milk has fish sauce in it. I can just smell the aroma. This will be great poured on rice. Thanks for sharing Lorraine Pascale’s recipe, Jaden. Enjoy your mom’s visit.
Reply
KP Kwan on 4/1/15 at 8:20 pm
Lovely recipe. I add some extra red chili for the spiciness as I like hot food. Turns out very well.
Reply
Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch on 4/1/15 at 7:34 pm
This looks absolutely phenomenal! I want this very soon!
Reply
Faith Watson on 4/1/15 at 4:13 pm
Jaden, I asked the kitchen at the Thai place we ate at if I could buy a couple of Kafir lime leaves from them to use at home (couldn’t find anywhere out here in the suburbs). They gave me a handful (how nice), I froze them and they lasted for ages. Just an fyi for readers! Because there is little better than when you put the lime in the coconut. 😀
Reply
Diane Madara on 4/1/15 at 3:36 pm
Jaden,
If I use the lemongrass in a tube because I can’t get it
fresh, what amount would I use to equate to the 1 stalk
used in the Thai Chicken Coconut Soup recipe?Thank you!
DianeReply
Cora on 4/1/15 at 3:27 pm
This soup is my very favorite — I think about it all the time! It is the stuff of dreams for those who love the palate pleasing blend of salty, sweet, sour, spicy and savory done so well in Thai food. I use fresh lemongrass, although the tubes of lemongrass paste will do. When I find kaffir lime leaves, I freeze them to use later with great results. Love the idea of tearing the lime leaf and leaving it whole in the soup – so much easier to avoid eating it with the soup! And, until I found this soup, I hated cilantro, but it is perfect with the flavors of Thai food. Thanks, Jaden, for sharing this simple, straight forward recipe. Now I’ve got to check out Lorraine Pascale’s cookbook!
Reply
Linda M. on 4/1/15 at 2:10 pm
Thank you for the recipe! I saw it and right away made it! lovely flavors, so easy to make.
Reply
