350g / 12oz chicken breast |
2 large cans (400ml) of coconut milk |
1 sweet red pepper |
150g rice noodles (see cook's notes) |
450ml (16fl oz) of chicken or vegetable stock |
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil |
4cm or so of fresh root ginger |
1 tablespoon of Soy Sauce |
2 tablespoons of fish sauce (use more Soy Sauce if you don't have fish sauce) |
Juice of one large lime (or two small ones) |
4 tablespoons of honey (clear or set) |
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper |
6 spring onions |
A handful of fresh coriander |
Remove the stalk, pith and seeds from the red pepper. Cut into thin slices and
then into 2cm lengths.
Slice the chicken into thin strips (see picture
above).
Top and tail then slice the spring onions (see picture above).
Authentic Thai Chicken Soup uses some rather exotic ingredients which can be expensive and are unlikely to be used frequently. Some of the ingredients are likely to stay at the back of your store cupboard, only being used once or twice, until they pass their "sell by" and you eventually throw them out.
Our recipe uses more common ingredients but tastes exactly like the real Thai Chicken Soup served up in good Chinese restaurants. The use of vegetables in this soup is really a matter of taste. If sweet red peppers aren't to your taste then use carrots instead. We have used fresh chicken and fried it off before adding it to the soup. If you have any leftover chicken then use that instead, and add it directly to the soup.
As far as the noodles go we have specified rice noodles but any thin noodles will do the job just fine. Don't be afraid to experiment with this recipe, there are literally hundreds of variations, all authentic in their own way. Post any comments at the bottom of this page about how you cooked this soup.
Add the vegetable oil to a pan on a medium heat. Fry the red peppers for five minutes. Add the chicken strips (if cooking from fresh) and fry for 3 minutes until white. Turn the ingredients frequently.