Lemongrass Chicken Soup
When I need a warming, filling, nutritive soup, I pull out this recipe for Lemongrass Chicken Soup that I found in a magazine about 20 years ago! It's light, but filled with protein, healthy carbohydrates, flavor, and color.
Ingredients
- 3 quarts chicken broth
- 1 stalk fresh lemon grass (each 12-18 inches long) or 6 3-inch strips lemon peel, white only
- 12 slices fresh ginger cut thinly
- 6-7 fresh jalapeno chiles 3-3.5 ounces total
- 1¼ pounds fresh cabbage cut into 2-3 inch long shreds
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced ¼-inch thick
- 2 carrots (about 8 ounces) sliced ¼-inch thick
- 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts sliced ¼-inch thick, 1½-2 inches long
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons fish sauce (AKA nam pla or nuoc mam) or soy sauce
- Salt to season
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced green onions
- 2 lemons, cut into wedges
- 1½ cups fresh cilantro, chopped
- 5 cups hot cooked rice
Instructions
- In an 8-10 quart pot, bring broth to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, pull off and discard coarse outer layers from the lemon grass and trim the stem ends. Cut each stalk into about 3-inch lengths. With the flat side of a chef's knife, lightly crush the lemon grass and ginger.
- Cut 1 or 2 of the jalapeno chiles in half lengthwise. Stem the remaining chiles, finely chop, and reserve. Add lemon grass, ginger, and halved chiles to the boiling broth. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 20-30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the cabbage, mushrooms, carrots, and garlic and cut the chicken into slices.
- Add the cabbage, mushrooms, carrots, and garlic to the broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender, 8-10 minutes.
- Add chicken and tomatoes. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until chicken is no longer pink, 2-4 minutes. Add lemon juice and fish sauce. Taste and season with salt as needed.
- Serve soup over steamed rice and garnish with lemon wedges, cilantro, and chopped chiles.
Notes
You can make the soup up through step 4 a day or two ahead of time. You can also freeze it and finish it when you are ready to use it. Return it to a simmer and continue with the recipe.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!