Thai-inspired coconut chicken soup

• vegetable or other flavourless oil1 tbsp tbsp
• banana shallots↗2

  finely chopped

• lemongrass stalk1

  bashed

• garlic cloves↗2

  crushed

• galangal↗5g g

  peeled and sliced, or 2 tsp galangal paste

• Thai chillies↗1-2

  (or to taste, depending how spicy you like it), finely sliced

• coriander10g g

  leaves picked and stalks finely chopped

• Thai red curry paste↗1 tbsp tbsp
• coconut milk↗400ml can ml

  can

• chicken stock↗400ml ml
• chicken breasts↗2

  cut into bite-size pieces

• lime leaves2

  (fresh or dried)

• white mushrooms↗300g g

  sliced

• fish sauce↗1½ tbsp tbsp
• golden caster sugar↗2 tsp tsp
• lime↗1

  juiced

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oil in a large, deep saucepan over a medium-high heat and cook the shallots, lemongrass, garlic, galangal, chillies, coriander stalks and curry paste for 1-2 mins, stirring often until the mixture is fragrant. Pour in the coconut milk and stock, and stir well to release any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 10-15 mins.

2. 2

   Mix in the chicken pieces and lime leaves. Bring to a gentle bubble and cook for 10 mins more until the chicken is cooked through, adding the mushrooms for the final 5 mins. Stir in the fish sauce and sugar, then add lime juice to taste. Add a splash more fish sauce or sugar, if needed. Remove the lemongrass and galangal slices, then serve with the coriander leaves sprinkled over.