Lemon Grass Chicken Soup

Submitted by Sharlene~W

"This soup is easy to make, hearty and satisfying. This soup is rather mild, but chose to leave it that way in deference to those who don't eat spicy food. If you were serving a large group with different tastes, that would be a consideration. I use about double the lemon grass, fish sauce, peppers and cilantro, putting half the peppers and cilantro in the soup and the other half for each person to add. If you can find them, Thai chili peppers are hotter than jalapenos!"

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 16
• Serves: 10

ingredients

• 3 quarts chicken broth
• 2 stalks fresh lemongrass (each 12 to 18 inches long)
• 12 slices fresh ginger (thin, quarter sized)
• 6 fresh jalapeno chilies
• 1 1⁄4 lbs cabbage
• 8 ounces mushrooms
• 2 carrots
• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1⁄2 cup lemon juice (approximate)
• 2 tablespoons asian fish sauce (nam pla or nuoc mam)
• 1⁄3 cup thinly sliced green onion
• 5 cups hot cooked rice
• 2 lemons, cut into wedges
• 1 1⁄2 cups chopped fresh cilantro

directions

1. In an 1 to 10-quart pan, bring broth to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, pull off and discard course outer layers from lemon grass and trim off and discard stem ends. Cut each stalk into about 3-inch lengths. With the flat side of a knife, lightly crush lemon grass and ginger. Cut one or two chilies in half lengthwise (use two if you'd like it spicy); stem remaining chilies (seed, if desired, for less heat), finely chop and reserve. Add lemon grass, ginger, and halved chilies to boiling broth. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, rinse cabbage and cut into shreds about 1/4 inch wide and 2 to 3 inches long. Rinse mushrooms, trim off and discard stem ends and discolored parts, and slice lengthwise 1/4 inch thick. Peel carrots and slice 1/4 inch thick. Rinse chicken and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices 1 1/2 to 2 inches long.
3. With a slotted spoon, remove and discard lemon grass, ginger and chilies from broth.
4. Add cabbage, mushrooms, carrots, and garlic to broth; cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender when pierced, 8 to 10 minutes.
5. Add chicken and tomatoes with their juice. Cover and cook over high heat until chicken is no longer pink in the center (cut to test). This will take about 3 to 5 minutes. Add lemon juice and fish sauce to taste. Sprinkle with green onions.
6. Place rice, lemon wedges, cilantro and chopped chilies in separate bowls and offer with soup to add to taste.

Reviews

[killajen]

I made this today and I used Dorot frozen ginger and garlic cubes, squeez lemon grass from a tube, chicken thighs, and slaw mix that contained carrots. Using the frozen products, I am sure kicked the flavors up big time because the flavors are much stronger. I love this soup. the short cuts make this soup go a lot a lot faster and the taste is phenomenal!!!

 

[Sarahmai]

we loved this recipe! definitely keep the jalapenos to a minimum and allow each person to add their own. Yum!!!

 

[eightball1751]

This didn't work out for me. The chicken soup got cloudy from the ginger, lemon grass, and pepper, and as far as I could tell, they added very little to the taste. I omitted tomatoes because tomatoes in Thai food didn't mesh for me. I added a lot of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chili paste to get the taste anywhere near special.

 

[e. e. stimps]

I used turkey from my T-day leftovers instead of chicken to make the broth and to provide the meat. I prepared the broth according to the directions, simmering with the lemongrass, ginger, and chilies for about 30 minutes while I made brown rice. Then, rather than cooking the veggies, I brought them to work and with a speed peeler, shaved them into the bowl with the turkey, rice, and fresh cilantro and then just poured over the top with the reheated broth. It made an excellent "fresh" lunch.

 

[Camillesbox]

This is a tasty and hearty soup that I will surely make again and I can't believe it only took 35 minutes to make. I used limes instead of lemons and galangal insted of ginger. I did not use the tomatoes. Also, I pan fried the chicken with olive oil before putting into the soup. I also used rice noodles instead or rice but I bet coconut rice would be good too. I could not find fresh lemongrass at the store so I used sliced lemongrass from a glass gar (actually it gave it a stronger taste which we liked). I only used 1 tablespoon of fish sauce.