Thai-Style Chicken and Sweet Potato Soup
I came home from work one evening in a little bit of a funk. I was tired from a long day, it was cold outside, and it was one of those days where I drove both to and from work in the dark. However, all of my crankiness evaporated when I walked into the kitchen. There was a big pot of soup bubbling on the stove and the whole house smelled like a Thai restaurant tinged with lime and coconut.
Onions and garlic and ginger, oh my
Marc is a real soup nut… he would eat it everyday if I agreed to it. On this cold night he was craving something a little different, something that was a little Asian and a little Caribbean. This soup was the culmination of those cravings and as good as it smelled, it tasted even better.
Sweet potatoes and mushrooms into the pool
There was a nice meatiness from chicken and mushrooms, sweetness from sweet potato and coconut, a little nuttiness from peanut butter, and some tang from a lime. It was a perfect balance of the different flavors and just the thing to return my mood to its normally cheerful state. So if you find yourself in need of a little cheering up, just whip a pot of this soup, inhale the savory-sweet smell, and dig in. I guarantee you will feel better immediately.
Stirring the soup
Thai-Style Chicken and Sweet Potato Soup
From the mind of Marc
Ingredients:
2 tlbs ginger oil (if you don’t have any, substitute peanut or other neutral oil and add an additional tbls of minced fresh ginger)
1 tlbs fresh ginger, minced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 small yellow onion, sliced
16 oz chicken stock (homemade preferred, if you don’t have any on hand make sure to use low sodium broth)
1 medium sweet potato, peeled, chopped in 1″ cubes
6 oz white button mushrooms, stemmed, sliced
2 tbls fish sauce
1 – 14 oz can light coconut milk
2 chicken breasts (about 1.5 lbs), cooked* and chopped
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup shredded coconut
Toasted shredded coconut**, chopped peanuts, and cilantro for garnish (optional)
To Make:
Heat large soup pot with the ginger oil over medium heat. Once hot, add in the ginger, garlic, and onion and cook until softened, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add the sweet potato, mushrooms, and fish sauce. Pour in the chicken stock and add water (if needed) to barely cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered for 1 hour.
Add in the chopped chicken, lime zest, lime juice, peanut butter, shredded coconut, and coconut milk. Continue to simmer for another hour, stirring occasionally.
To Serve:
Serve hot garnished with toasted coconut, chopped peanuts, and fresh cilantro. Serves 4-6 as a main course.
* We brined our chicken overnight prior to oven roasting. While this isn’t absolutely necessary, it does add a lot of nice flavor to the chicken.
** To toast shredded coconut, place coconut on a foil lined baking sheet. Place in a 325 degree oven until browned and toasty, 8-10 minutes. A toaster oven works well for this.
