Thai Hot & Sour Soup

Sheynath's Note:

I don't know where I got this recipe originally, the card is all splattered and dirty. I wanted to post it here before I lose it.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 4-8

Yield: 8.0 cups

• 8 cups chicken stock
• 3 stalks lemongrass , cut in 1 inch lengths
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 2 green serrano chilies , slivered
• 2 lbs chicken (or mixture) or 2 lbs shrimp (or mixture) or 2 lbs tofu (or mixture)
• 1 tablespoon thick coconut milk
• 2 limes, juice of
• 1 red serrano chilie , slivered
• 2 tablespoons cilantro , chopped
• 3 green onions , chopped

Directions:

1. Heat the chicken stock in a large pot with the lemongrass, lime leaves, lime zest and green chiles. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Add the meat and/or tofu to the stock and simmer until the meat is done.
3. Turn off the heat and add the coconut milk and lime juice. Stir to blend.
4. Pour soup into a tureen or ladle into bowls and sprinkle with red chili, cilantro and green onions.
5. Adjust individual servings to taste with additional chili, cilantro, green onions, soy sauce. fish sauce or lime juice.

Reviews

[lmaiorana]

Made this dish for my family (with 2 under 5). Everyone loved it, but I did make a couple changes. First I added about 1/4 c of coconut milk because we like it and I wanted to add more thickness to the broth. I also added rice noodles to give it more substance, esp for my kids. I can't see making it w/o either next time. The only other thing I'd change for next time is leaving the lemongrass longer to make it easier to remove before eating. It was a bit of a pain to remove them individually from our bowls. I'm passing this recipe on to my dad who has Celiac disease as this is a perfect gluten free meal. Definitely make this again!!

[CHILI SPICE]

YUMMY! I will make this again. I love the the flavors and textures. This soup made every taste bud in my mouth very happy. Thank you! [made and reviewed for NZ/AUS recipe swap #31, August 2009].

[Baby Kato]

We enjoyed this soup very much Sheynath. I used Collasal shrimp and added fish sauce and a little sugar. (personal preference only). The lemon grass that I used was minced. The spice and tartness in the soup were perfect. I did garnish the soup with shredded thai basil instead of cilantro. My serrano chilie was dried...but worked perfectly in this dish. Thanks so much for sharing. I will make this again.