A Taste of Thailand for my little family

So this post will be quick...Today I was hungry for a coconut milk based Thai soup.  I had read someone's post on Facebook about them having some for dinner and realized I had several of the ingredients already.  Thankfully our sons have been exposed to a wide variety of food so this didn't scare them.

In an effort to save money on this whole food eating adventure, I've started buying whole organic chicken.  Costco has them for $2.49/lb which saves us a bundle compared to boneless/skinless chicken breasts.  You can put them in the crockpot which I do often.  But to save time today I baked it.  Simply preheat your oven to 400 F.  Place chicken in a dutch oven with 4-5 cups of water and cover.  Bake 1 hour.  Remove lid and bake an additional 20-30 minutes.  The internal temperature should reach 165 F. I add the water around my chicken so I have chicken stock/broth to use in other recipes.  The recipe below is what we made today.  It was soooo good!  It made me feel like I was back in graduate school eating at my favorite Thai restaurant in Minneapolis.  My Handsome Hubby even said it was better than some Thai food we had last week.

Here's the recipe notes and link...

Thai Chicken Soup

You do have to get a few obscure ingredients that can be harder to come by in smaller towns.  Lemon grass, kaffir leaves, and fish sauce could be tough finds.  A note to remember is that coriander leaves are the same as cilantro.  It's the same plant...when it goes to seed it is considered coriander.  We added mushrooms, extra chicken, broccoli, and bell peppers to our soup to make it more of a meal.  I used the chicken from the whole chicken that I baked during the day.  Then it was served as soup for my husband and I.  The kids ate it over mung bean noodles.  All of us topped ours with cilantro, basil, and green onions.  My husband added chili paste.  Sorry no picture!  I know it helps but go to this link and follow the recipe.  It's worth your time.



Enjoy!