Yes, I am making soup again.  What can I say – I’m a soup addict. I love soup so much, I just can’t bear to be without it for extended periods of time.

So what if it’s been in the high 70′s every day for the last week? You can still eat soup!

Especially “Spring” soup.  Whatever that is.  I am qualifying this as a Spring soup because it is fresh, light, green and has plenty of cleansing ingredients. Yeah, that might be my loose definition but it’s working for me and any excuse to make and eat soup is a good excuse in my book.

NOTES:

  • I used “Mai Fun” Rice Noodles which are very thin and similar to Vermicelli.  I like Annie Chun’s brand because they are available as Brown Rice Noodles.  I discuss it further in the notes section of the Curry Soup recipe.
  • Since I use shredded chicken breast in a lot of dishes, I usually shred and freeze leftover roast chicken, rotisserie chicken or soup chicken (chicken leftover from making chicken stock or chicken soup) to save time. You can always pick up a rotisserie chicken or cook a chicken breast, whatever works!
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Spring Thai Chicken Noodle Soup
 
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5 Points Plus Per Serving — Recipe Makes 4 Servings
By,:
Serves:: 4

Ingredients
  • 1 teaspoon canola oil or coconut oil
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1″ piece of ginger root, peeled and grated
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 3 pieces (about 5″ each) peeled fresh lemongrass, crushed with the back of a knife
  • 2 cups boneless, skinless chicken breast, shredded
  • 4 baby bok choy or 1 regular boy choy, roughly chopped (approx 1″ pieces)
  • ¼ cup cilantro leaves
  • ¼ cup small basil leaves or Thai basil leaves
  • 2 tablespoons lime juiced (1 small lime)
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 ounces dry rice noodles (see Note)
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions
PREP:
  1. Mince shallots and garlic. Peel ginger and grate into a small dish. Combine garlic and ginger and set aside.
  2. Use back of knife to smash the lemongrass (don’t worry, it is being removed from the soup prior to serving!).
  3. Wash Bok Choy and chop into 1″ pieces. Measure ¼ cup cilantro leaves and ¼ cup (small) basil leaves and combine in a bowl with salt and lime juice. Weigh 2-ounces of rice noodles and set aside.
COOK:
  1. Heat a soup pot over medium high heat. Once hot, add oil.
  2. Add shallots; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
  3. Add ginger and garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
  4. Add chicken broth, stir to loosen any rough bits of garlic, etc. from bottom of pot. Raise heat to bring to a boil.
  5. Once boiling, add smashed lemongrass stalks, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
  6. Remove lemongrass and discard.
  7. Stir in shredded chicken and Bok Choy; simmer 3 minutes.
  8. Add dry rice noodles directly to soup, cook for 2 minutes.
  9. Remove from heat and add cilantro, basil, salt and lime juice. Stir to combine. Serve immediately with crushed red pepper flakes sprinkled on top and Enjoy!

Adapted From: Thai Chicken Soup with Spicy Wontons, Cooking Light Magazine, May 2012

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