Thai Chicken Soup

This Thai soup has a nourishing, anti-inflammatory broth with ginger, lemongrass, and fresh herbs. Make this Asian soup recipe to warm you up!

Regardless of the current health issues in the world, winter is around the corner, meaning we’ll soon enter into the cold and flu season. It happens every year, whether we’re ready for it or not, right?

So, to give the body a fighting chance, it’s important to include plenty of antioxidant-rich foods into your diet. And for the aching bones, you’ll need anti-inflammatory properties, too.

Don’t worry- I have an arsenal of soup recipes ready to help you. Pay close attention, because all of these have something in common.

My Asian-inspired flu buster soup is the perfect cure for cold weather aches and pains. I love to slurp the zoodles! There’s also nourishing Thai coconut soup with cabbage that does a great job of taking the winter chill out of your body.

To complete the trifecta, I have this new, oh-so-delicious, nourishing Asian soup recipe.

Now, y’all want to guess what those soups have in common? In addition to being DELICIOUS and Asian-inspired, I mean.

They all contain antioxidants, AND they all have the ability to reduce inflammation! If you deal with achy joints in cold weather, this recipe is calling your name! 

Thai soup

See, I have a good reason for making spicy Asian soups. It’s because.the anti-inflammatory properties in them come from (among other ingredients), the goodness of a special spicy fruit… chili peppers!

So, we have a nourishing broth that’s anti-inflammatory! Ginger, lemongrass, herbs, and spices in the broth make for one healing soup.

RECIPE NOTES, NUTRITION, AND SUBSTITUTIONS

Chicken– You can make this recipe with or without chicken, it’s totally up to you. But with the addition of chicken, not only is it nourishing and a good source of protein, but it’s also one of the tastiest chicken soups you’ll ever eat!

If you don’t use chicken, it’ll be a Thai vegetable soup. Oh, and and see the recipe card for low carb and vegan options.

Here are just some of the ingredients in the broth:

This isn’t a complete ingredient list. You can find the full list, and amounts needed, in the recipe card below.

• Stock or broth- If you plan to add chicken, go for chicken stock or broth. Otherwise, you can use vegetable.
• Lemongrass- This herb provides antioxidants and it also reduces inflammation. Oh, and it’s been known to reduce fever. This is a winter must-have ingredient!
• Ginger- Another strong anti-inflammatory, and it helps with nausea too.
• Sugar- There’s only a teaspoon of sugar in the broth, and it’s there to help balance the spicy flavors. If you need to make this low carb, feel free to omit the sugar, or use a sweetener substitute.
• Cilantro stems– You’ll use these for making the broth. Keep the cilantro leaves for garnishing.
• Thai Lime (aka kaffir lime) leaves– This ingredient can be very difficult to find in the U.S., and the flavor is very complex, so it’s not easy to replicate with just one simple swap. A combination of bay leaf, lemon thyme, and lime zest will give you the closest flavor. Here are some other kaffir lime substitutes.
• Chili sauce and/or Thai chili pepper– For less heat, omit one or the other.

How to make this Asian soup recipe

1. Simmer the stock. After 15 minutes, strain the stock to remove the herbs, ginger, peppers, etc. If you’re going to make the Thai soup with chicken, transfer those ingredients to another large pot for the poaching liquid. Meanwhile, turn the broth down to low heat.

2. Poach the chicken. I like to add a splash of oil to the poaching liquid too. It’ll take about 15 minutes to poach the chicken. After that, turn off the heat, cover the pot, and allow the chicken to rest while you cook the noodles.

3. Cook the rice noodles according to the instructions. Rice noodles or rice vermicelli noodles should only take 5-10 minutes to cook. Noodles are optional.

4. Add chicken and noodles to the Thai soup. Slice or shred the cooked chicken and add it to the pot of broth. Simmer for a few minutes, or until you’re ready to serve. If you are adding in rice noodles, this is when you would do so.

5. Garnish and serve.

Final notes

You don’t have to use poached chicken. But it does add in a TON of flavor. To speed up the process, you can use any leftover chicken or meat you have on hand.

For vegan option

• Omit the chicken and just add in cooked rice noodles
• Replace fish sauce with rice vinegar and tamari

For low carb option

• Skip the noodles and use zucchini noodles instead.
• Omit the sugar, or use a sugar substitute.

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Have a wonderful warming day!

Cheers,

LC