Thai Chicken & Coconut Soup

Hooray for "soup season!" I love soup... It always makes me feel warm and cozy on a cool day. Several years ago, I forced the whole family to eat only soup for 6 weeks in the spring. Andrew broke his jaw that season at high school football practice and had to have his jaw wired almost completely closed until it healed. He could only open his mouth enough to use a straw or very carefully sip liquids through his teeth. We even pureed his birthday cake that year with some milk and ice cream - it was a yummy birthday cake milkshake. Now, Andrew never eats soup. I guess he had enough in those 6 weeks to last him a lifetime. I still love it. So here's a very flavorful soup to warm you up on a cool fall day.

Thai Chicken & Coconut Soup
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thin 1/2 inch strips
3 tablespoons fish sauce (availble in the Asian section of your grocery store)
juice of 2 limes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 teaspoon crushed dried lemon grass or lemon zest
1 can coconut milk
1 can chicken broth
1 red chile or jalepeno, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
salt & pepper
1/4 pound soba noodles (if you can't find soba, you can use rice noodles or even whole wheat angel hair pasta)

NOTE: This only serves about 2 people. So double or triple the recipe if you want to serve a crowd.

In a small glass bowl, combine the fish sauce and lime juice. Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat. Allow chicken to marinade while you prepare the rest of the soup.

Head the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook until tender and translucent (about 8 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the coriander, ginger, lemon grass and stir, cooking for 30 seconds. Add the coconut milk and chicken broth and bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the soba noodles in boiling water (they cook quickly - about 5 minutes). Rinse with cold water and drain until ready to use.

Add the chicken and marinade to the soup and cook for about 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through (the chicken is thin and small so it should cook very quickly).

To serve, ladle some of the soup into bowls, add noodles, sprinkle with cilantro and chiles. Enjoy!

adapted from foodandwine.com