Thai Chicken Soup

It's been a frosty week. Every morning when I open the curtains and look out into the garden, I see the silvery dusting over the hedges and roofs. It looks pretty, but oh my, it is so nippy outdoors, and nobody wants to get out into the cold. Hot tea keeps me warm all day long, and in the evening we enjoy eating soup - a perfect food for this weather. A couple of days ago I cooked a simple and quick Thai Chicken Soup.

The recipe was created by Knorr, and I reproduce it on my blog with a kind permission from Knorr.
I'm rather fond of Knorr as a brand, its products have been reliable staples in my kitchen for many years. When I was just married (we're celebrating our 20th anniversary later this year, eeek), I collected a series of recipe cards produced by Knorr, trying to impress my dear husband. I still keep those cards.

But going back to our soup. Soups are very trendy these days (do I even dare to mention the word "souping"? I dislike the word which sounds rather silly artificial, but pleased to hear that soups are en vogue, though in my opinion they have never been out of vogue, have they?!).

Thai Chicken Soup
Ingredients:
1tbsp olive oil
225g skinless chicken breast, sliced thinly
1/2tsp grated chilli
1/2tsp grated root ginger
1tsp ready-grated lemon grass (optional)
400ml can coconut milk
1 Knorr Chicken stock cube, dissolved in 500ml boiling water
1tbsp soy sauce
juice of 1 lime
fresh coriander, chopped
I have also added:
a handful of basmati rice
1 celery stalk, peeled and chopped

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, stir fry the chicken for 5-6 minutes or until lightly browned.
Stir in the chilli, root ginger and lemon grass and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients, except the coriander, bring gently to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Stir in the coriander and serve immediately with crusty bread.

That's what Knorr says in the recipe.

And that's how I cooked it. First of all, I used the roast chicken leftovers rather than raw chicken, and skipped browning it. I chopped a celery stalk and gave it a quick fry for 3 minutes before adding to a pan with the shredded chicken meat. I also added a big handful of rice to the soup.
I sliced about half a finger of green chilli and mashed half of a fresh lemon grass for the stock.
I cooked it on low for about 15-20 minutes, until the rice was ready.
It was very nice, full of flavours. The coconut milk makes it creamy and gives a touch of sweetness.
I think that it was a tad too salty for my personal taste. It might be good if you taste the broth before adding the soy sauce, as you might find that adding a Knorr stock cube would make it salty enough.

And here is a professionally taken photo, courtesy of Knorr.

Disclosure: I received several packs of Knorr stock cubes for the purposes of trying a few soup recipes. All opinions are mine.

Image credits: Knorr