Chicken Basics: Thai Coconut Curry Soup

First, let me say this: I don't like coconut. However, I do like coconut milk in this soup. Without it's presence, this is a spicy monster of a soup. So don't discount this recipe just because of it's name. It's really good, especially when you come home with a cold in the winter...or in my case, the middle of summer!

Thai Coconut Curry Soup

Ingredients:

• Leftover chicken and rice, from Chicken Basics recipe
• 1 1/2 cups or 1 can chicken broth
• 1/3 can cocanut milk or cream (cream is thicker, milk has less fat. You pick your fav!)
• One large or two small sliced carrots, cut into small pieces
• 2 tsp garlic
• 1 tsp garlic-pepper sauce (found in the Asian section of the market)
• 1/2 cup sliced red, orange or yellow peppers
• Either 1 tbsp fish sauce or 1 tsp soy sauce (fish sauce lends a better taste to the overall soup)
• Lime juice
• Frozen cilantro cube or 1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1. In a saucepan, mix together chicken broth, garlic, garlic-pepper sauce and fish or soy sauce. Set to boiling on stovetop.  Add enough garlic-pepper sauce that the broth is just too spicy to tolerate. The coconut milk will tone it down considerably in step five.
2. Clean and chop carrots; add to pot.

3. Chop chicken breast and add to pot.

4. Mix in the leftover brown rice.
5. Add in the cilantro cube, coconut milk/cream and sliced red peppers.
6. Stir to combine.  Taste broth at this point to check for spice level. If it's too hot for you, add a bit more cocanut milk, chicken broth or rice to take the heat off.
7. Just before serving, add a squirt of lime juice and Sriacha hot sauce (if you like it REALLY spicy--like I do!)
8. Eat!

This soup cures sinus congestion better than any medication I've ever tried. And with all the carrots, peppers and garlic, it's a nice dose of vitamins too! We eat this several times a month every winter, just for the warming properties the spices give it. Yum.