Sam's Kitchen

We are keeping our tummies warm and immunes boosted with this nutritious goodness – Chicken Soup. Made with coconut milk, ginger, ground turmeric cumin and ground coriander seeds this soup made a very enjoyable addition to our winter menu.

It is that kind of a soup I would love to eat snuggled on the couch on a Sunday evening, watching  movies, savoring every mouthful and going for seconds but-but-but! – little kids bouncing around creating little toy tornadoes,  forever hungry puppy dog… Imagine the picture? Yes, I do too.., word disaster pops into my mind.
So, we are going to eat it at a dinner table, still enjoy it and go for seconds, and Marley dog might get a meatball if a lucky star is shining over his head at the time, though I have a strong suspicion he was born with a lucky star installed over his head.

There he is! A fluffy food thief trying to give himself away as a giant brown bunny 😉

The chicken mince ( ground chicken ) can be a fair bit sticky when mixing and forming the “balls ” they kind of resemble a sticky blob, but I find they get  firm very quickly once they hit the hot liquid. I used free range organic chicken mince, I believe it tastes much better and is free of hormones and other nasties.

Preparation time and cooking 1 hour
Serves 6

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

500g chicken mince ( ground chicken )
4 spring onions finely chopped
1 garlic clove crushed
1-2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander (cilantro )
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper ( white or black )

For the Soup

2 tbsp peanut, coconut oil or olive oil
2-3 shallot onions thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 1/2tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp  ground coriander seeds
2 400ml can light coconut milk
4-5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1-2 lemongrass sticks
4 kaffir lime leaves
2 celery sticks chopped into bite size pieces
2 carrots peeled, chopped into bite size pieces
2 large potatoes peeled and cubed
Salt
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 lime or lemon juice ( add extra lime juice for more zing )
1 tbsp chili paste ( optional )

To Serve and Garnish

Steamed Rice or Egg Noodles

1 red chili thinly sliced ( optional )
Handful fresh coriander leaves

Method

In a large bowl mix chicken meatball ingredients together, then shape 10-12 balls. Cover with cling film and set aside or refrigerate.

Heat oil in a large pot, add shallots and garlic.
Saute over a medium heat for 1 minute or till fragrant and shallots are lightly browned.
Add spices and saute for another minute.
Add coconut milk, chicken stock, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves . Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, then add chicken meatballs.
Cook semi-covered with a lid over a medium-low heat for 10 minutes then add the vegetables and a pinch of salt.
Cook  semi-covered for 30 minutes or till vegetables cooked through. Add fish sauce, lime or lemon juice to taste and chili paste.

Garnish with sliced chili and coriander leaves and serve accompanied with steamed rice or egg noodles.