Thailand: Chicken Noodle Soup

I found this recipe in this month's Food Network magazine, while looking for a soup to make for my monthly Soup and Book club. It's a variation on the classic Thai soup Tom Kha Gai. I'd never cooked with coconut milk before, but had been wanting to. I also had leftover cilantro in the fridge from last Sunday's Albóndigas, so this soup was the perfect choice!

What you'll need:

Vegetable oil or other oil for sautéing

1 small onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons green curry paste (if you can't find this, it's okay to leave it out)

6 cups chicken broth (for those of you in the Mid-Atlantic region, Wegmans makes a Thai soup stock that will work great as well)

15 ounces coconut milk

1.5 tablespoons fish sauce

2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced

Approximately 1 pound chicken, thinly sliced

4 ounces thin rice noodles, broken up

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 cup chopped cilantro

(I also used a healthy dose of Sriracha sauce to spice things up)

Step 1: Sauté the onion in the oil until slightly golden.

Step 2: Add garlic and curry paste, and cook for about 2 more minutes.

Step 3: Add the broth, coconut milk and fish sauce, and bring to a boil.

Step 4: Add the peppers, noodles and chicken, and simmer for about 6 minutes until noodles are soft and chicken is cooked.

Step 5: Add lime juice, and salt and hot sauce to taste.

Step 6: Turn off heat and stir in fresh cilantro.

Enjoy!