Curried Chicken Coconut Noodle Soup

I'm afraid I've caught a cold. As far as colds go, this one rates a 5 on a scale of 1-10, just a stuffy head, runny eyes and nose, scratchy throat, sneezing, and no taste buds, however, it couldn't have come at a more inconvienient time. when are colds ever convienient Deb? I have a wedding to go to this weekend, how am I going to look fabulous with a big puffy head and tissue hanging out of my nose? I guess I could blame the watery eyes on tears of joy. I'm one of those people that cries at weddings (hey, stop making fun of me). It's a well known fact, you could be a stranger or it could be a wedding on t.v. and I will cry, and if I know you, well then I'm a big bawling mess. I don't think I can stretch the crying excuse over the course of 6 hours though, so I'll just have to look as fabulous as I can with a swollen head and a tummy to match. Since I'm pregnant and can't take any medicines, I've been trying to combat this cold with lots of liquids and lots of soup... soup infused with the strong healing powers and flavors of ginger, garlic, lemon grass, cilantro and lime. So good.

I found the recipe on the Epicurious site, a site you may have noticed I've been visiting a lot lately. The soup was fantastic, very easy to make and super tasty, even with my cold I was able to enjoy the flavors of this soup. I did modify it just a little to better suit my tastes but I'm sure the soup is just as good as is. I used 4 cloves of garlic rather than 2, I used 2 whole chicken legs (leg and thigh) rather than a breast because I find white meat chicken to be less flavorful than dark meat chicken. I only used 4 tablespoons of fish sauce, and I also added a tiny pinch of salt to the soup to help bring out the flavor of the lime. At the last minute I decided to crush some peanuts and throw them into the soup bowl and I'm so glad I did. They added a wonderful crunch and the peanuty taste went well with the sesame chili oil. The next time I make the soup I'll strain it before adding the chicken back in. We found the inedible bits of lemon grass and peppercorns to be annoying and it distracted from the enjoyment of the soup.

from Epicurious

Curried Chicken Coconut Noodle Soup

"Rice sticks turn up in soups in many parts of Asia. This recipe was inspired by an aromatic soup offered at Bo Ky, a Vietnamese noodle parlor on Bayard Street in New York City."

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 tablespoons curry powder
• 3 cups chicken broth
• two 14-ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk*
• 1 cup water
• 2 stalks of lemongrass*, the outer leaves discarded, ends trimmed, and 5 inches of the lower stalks minced
• ten 1/8-inch-thick slices of peeled fresh gingerroot
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 whole chicken breast with skin and bones (about 1 pound)
• 1/2 pound dried rice-stick noodles* (rice vermicelli)
• 6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 6 tablespoons Asian fish sauce such as nuoc mam*
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh coriander
• Asian chili oil* to taste if desired
• *available at Asian markets and some specialty produce markets

In a heavy saucepan cook the garlic in the vegetable oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until it is fragrant, add the curry powder, and cook the mixture, stirring, for 30 seconds. Stir in the broth, the coconut milk, the water, the lemongrass, the gingerroot, and the peppercorns and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the chicken and poach it at a bare simmer for 20 minutes, or until it is cooked through. Transfer the chicken with a slotted spoon to a bowl and let it cool, keeping the poaching mixture warm.

While the chicken is cooling, in a large bowl soak the noodles in warm water to cover for 5 minutes, drain them, and in a large saucepan of salted boiling water cook them for 5 minutes. Drain the noodles in a colander, rinse them under cold water, and drain them well.

Discard the skin and bones from the chicken, shred the meat, and stir it into the poaching mixture with the lime juice and the fish sauce. Cook the soup over moderate heat, stirring, until it is hot, divide the noodles among 6 to 8 bowls, and ladle the soup over them. Sprinkle the soup with the coriander and drizzle it with the chili oil.

Serves 4 as a main dish and 8 as a first course.

Gourmet

September 1995

Written by Deb on November 21, 2003 10:05 PM