Warming Coconut Soup

photo by geishaboy500 photo by geishaboy500

Its cold out there!!

All across the US temperatures are hitting record lows, as a so called “Polar Vortex” descends across the country. Sounds a little too doom and gloom for us. Can we just agree to call it an “Ice Cold Front?”

Though, no matter what we call this sub-zero weather, one thing remains the same: warming foods are the only way to weather this impending storm. So, here in the Saucey Sauce Co Test Kitchen, we have been experimenting with hot soups. This week, we decided to whip up a Thai-inspired dish or Tom Kha.

Tom Kha is packed full of rich coconut milk and healing lemongrass and ginger. We spiced it up with a garnish of sliced birds eye chilies to heat you from the inside out. Cheers!

Tom Kha 

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups chicken stock
2 small Thai chiles, halved lengthwise
2 cloves garlic, crushed
One 3-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into 4 chunks
1 stalk lemongrass (white part only), cracked open with the flat side of a knife
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
One 13-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
One 8-ounce can straw mushrooms, rinsed
2 tablespoons Sweet Ginger Saucey Sauce
Juice of 3 limes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves, chopped red chillies, julienned red peppers and scallions, for garnish

Method

Bring the stock to a boil over medium heat in a soup pot. Add the lime leaves, chiles, garlic, ginger and lemongrass. Lower the heat to medium-low; cover the pot and gently simmer to let the spices infuse the broth, about 20 minutes. Once infused, remove lime leaves, lemongrass, and ginger chunks from the broth. Uncover the pot and stir in the chicken, coconut milk, mushrooms, Sweet Ginger  Sauce, and lime juice. Simmer to heat the chicken through. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle the soup into a soup tureen or individual serving bowls. Garnish with the cilantro, chilies, and red peppers.