Thai Chicken and Prawn Soup
At first glance these eye-catching chile peppers look like red jalapeno. However, they have a different flavor and are less meaty than Jalapeno. Red Fresnos are great roasted and added to salsas. Try grilling them alongside your steaks or in kabobs.
When roasting these they should char, blister, and become soft. Try substituting these in your favorite chile recipes.
Ingredients:
6 oz chicken breasts, on the bone
1/2 chicken bouillon cube
1 piece galingal or fresh ginger, 3/4 inch long, finely chopped
1 piece lemon grass, 3 inch long
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp chopped coriander root, or stem
2-3 small red chiles, seeded and freshly chopped
2 Tbsp fish sauce
5 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 lime leaves
8 oz fresh or cooked prawn (shrimp) tails, peeled and deveined
juice of 1 lime
4 sprigs coriander, chopped for garnish
2 spring onions, green part only, sliced, for garnish
4 large red chiles, sliced, for garnish
Instructions:
Cover the chicken with water, add bouillon cube, and simmer for 45 minutes. Slice the meat into strips (discard skin), and return to stock. Add coconut milk and simmer.
Blend the lemon grass, galingal or ginger, garlic, coriander,and chiles. Add this to the stock with the fish sauce, sugar, salt and lime leaves. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Just before serving, add the prawns and lime juice. Simmer for 5 minutes. Decorate with the coriander, spring onion, and chiles.
Serves 4-6.
From “Fire and Spice” by Hsiung, Fernandez, and Wheeler.