Summer has finally arrived in these parts – meaning that it is hot. It is sticky. The air feels as though it is weighing down on you when you step outside.
So, it is the perfect time to make a nice, hot chicken soup!
But, wait! This is not just your nana’s chicken soup; this pot o’ poultry goodness is loaded with coconut, and basil, and lemongrass, and garlic, and ginger, and hot sauce, and so many other good things…
It is actually kinda refreshing on a warm summer’s evening; served over yellow rice and topped with chopped scallions and, most importantly, sweet Thai chili sauce to complement the heat of the soup.
Now… I started with marinated, then grilled barbecued chicken thighs, but you could use most any cooked chicken you like, just remove the skin and bones, then chop it into easy to manage soup spoon sized pieces.
Oh… did I mention that this is a slow cooker recipe? So, no steaming pot to stand over, and the rice was a Zatarain’s mix I tossed in the rice cooker, so, too, easy peasey.
To add to the summer dinner easy – I used these seasoning pastes available in the produce section of most markets. No fuss. No muss. And tons of flavor.
Note: this is not a sponsored posts; I use this stuff because I like it; but you do what you want.
INGREDIENTS
Soup:
•1 can coconut milk
•1-3/4 cup chicken stock
•2 tbsp Key Lime juice
•2 tbsp basil paste
•1 tbsp lemongrass paste
•1 tbsp garlic paste
•1 tbsp Sherry Peppers Sauce*
•1-1/2 tsp fish sauce
•1 tsp Cajun Power Spicy Garlic Pepper Sauce
•1 tsp Aleppo pepper
•1 tsp ground ginger
•1 tsp Sambal Oelek (look in the Asian foods and sauces and seasonings section of your local market)
•5 cooked chicken thighs, skinned, boned and chopped
Serve With:
•Yellow rice
•Sliced scallions
•Sweet chili sauce
*No Sherry Peppers Sauce? No Problem! Simply add a bit of decent sherry (none of that “cooking” stuff) and a dash or three of your fave hot sauce, to taste.
Combine the soup ingredients together in your slow cooker, cover, and cook on high for a couple of hours until heated through, or, if you have more time, do it on low and leave it for the day.
Note 1: I did not add any salt, because the fish sauce added plenty of additional seasoning for the soup.
Note 2: As you are cooking the soup, and taking a taste, you might start to freak out about the soup being a touch too spicy. Fret ye not! Serving the soup over rice, and offering folk sweet chili sauce to stir in will please the palates of many of the most spicy averse diners you may have at your table. Not all… my dad would’ve hated this soup, but, one cannot please everyone at all times, and; this particular soup more than pleases me, so…
there.