Thai Green Curry Chicken Soup

Chicken soup is a culinary universal. It seems every culture has a chicken soup-its appeal is endless. With on-line shopping even hard to find ingredients are available to everyone. Here is a Thai inspired version.

2 T canola oil

2 T Green curry paste

1 T fresh Ginger Root-finely minced

1 t powdered Galangal (Galangal is similar to Ginger, some recipes call for one or the other)

1 clove of Garlic-finely minced

1 cup Japanese Eggplant-cut into 1 inch pieces

2-3 carrots-sliced into oblong slices

1 onion-diced

1 stalk Lemon Grass-cut into large pieces-Lemon Grass is for flavoring only, not eating

1 12 ounce can unsweetened coconut milk

1 T sugar

1 T Fish sauce

1 T hot Chinese chili paste-or to taste, I like a little burn

3 cups rick chicken broth

1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken

Fresh cilantro

Lime wedges

1 package glass noodles-soaked, any pasta including cooked spaghetti could work

Saute the green curry paste in the oil, add the ginger, galangal, and garlic, saute briefly at medium heat.

Add the onion, carrot, and egg plant, saute over low heat until the vegetables are softened.

Add the coconut milk, sugar, fish sauce, chili paste, and chicken broth, simmer 1/2 hour to marry all the flavors, taste and adjust flavoring if needed. Add the cooked chichen when the soup tastes balanced to you.

To plate, mound the glass noodles in the center of a large soup plate and ladle the soup over them (some people remove the lemon grass-I prefer to just eat around it). Garnish with fresh Cilantro and lime wedges.