Chicken Lemongrass Soup
Chef Owen and Dr. Michelle May
This flavorful Asian-inspired soup recipe with chicken, lemongrass, ginger, lime zest, chili paste, and other delicious ingredients, is as good as any soup you’d get at your favorite restaurant!
Chef Notes
Although some of the ingredients in this soup recipe may seem somewhat exotic, there are a few tricks for keeping them on hand.
- Lemongrass paste is a convenient alternative to stalks of fresh lemongrass and is available in a tube you can keep in your refrigerator.
- Cut fresh ginger into one inch pieces, peel it, and store in an airtight plastic bag in the freezer.
- Keep small jars of fish sauce and chili paste for boosting flavor in many dishes.
- You can use bottled lemon juice but fresh-squeezed lemon is easy so it’s worth a little effort.
Health Notes
For a creamy version of Chicken Lemongrass Soup, you may substitute 4 cups of the chicken stock with 2 14-ounce cans of coconut milk. Add the coconut milk after you turn the stock down to medium-low. To make a vegetarian version of this soup, use vegetable stock and replace the chicken with tofu, omit the fish sauce, and increase the soy sauce to 2 tablespoons.
Ingredients
8 cups of homemade chicken stock (or store bought)
1 tablespoon of lemongrass paste (see Chef’s Notes)
1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled
Zest of 1 lime
1 garlic clove, minced
2-3 Thai chilies (may substitute serrano or jalapeño)
1 large chicken breast, diced
¼ cup of fresh-squeezed lemon juice
½ cup mushrooms, sliced
2 green onions, thinly sliced on a bias; reserve 1 for garnish
1 Tablespoon of fish sauce
1 Tablespoon of chili paste (like Sambal Oelek)
2 eggs, lightly whisked with a fork
1 Tablespoon of soy sauce
3 tablespoons of fresh cilantro leaves, minced; reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish
Directions
- Heat chicken stock with lemongrass paste, ginger, lime zest, garlic, and fresh chilies over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Turn heat down to medium-low and simmer stock for 10 minutes.
- Add chicken, lemon juice, mushrooms, green onion, and fish sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes until chicken is tender.
- Stir in chili paste and soy sauce.
- Pour whisked eggs in as you are stirring the hot soup.
- Serve immediately or reduce heat to low.
- Garnish bowls with reserved green onion and cilantro
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