Chicken, coconut & galangal rice noodle soup

Ingredients (serves 2)

300g cold, cooked leftover chicken, shredded into bite sized bits.

2 birds eye chillies, any colour, 1 chilli if you don’t like it spicy, bruised in a pestle.

2 sticks lemongrass, chopped into 4 cm long pieces and bruised in a pestle.

40g piece of galangal, bruised in a pestle.

10 cherry tomatoes mashed a little with your hands.

6 Thai shallots, peeled and bruised in a pestle.

10g, Thai basil leaves.

1-2 tablespoons fish sauce.

300ml chicken stock.

300ml coconut cream.

½  lime, juiced.

1 pinch flaked sea salt.

Optional garnish:

10g crispy shallots.

5g crispy garlic.

5g chopped sawtooth coriander.

Basil sprigs.

Lime cheeks.

Blanched rice noodles if you want to bulk it out.

Method

1.      Firstly, place the chicken stock, half the coconut cream, sea salt, galangal, tomatoes, birds eye chillies, lemongrass, Thai shallots and 1 tablespoon fish sauce into a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Make sure to bruise the lemongrass and galangal by pounding once or twice with a pestle and mortar to release the flavours. leave simmering gently for 8-10 minutes until all the vegetables have softened with flavours infused.

2.      When softened and all the flavour has got to know each other, drop the shredded chicken into the soup and simmer for a further minute or so until everything is hot throughout.

3.      Finish by removing from the heat and adding the rest of the coconut cream and then dishing out into bowls, giving each bowl a good squeeze of fresh lime juice and half the picked Thai basil before serving. Lastly check the seasoning, it should be creamy, salty, a little spicy, aromatic with a sour edge from the lime, adjust to suit yourself if needs be.

4.      Garnish with crispy shallots and garlic, chopped sawtooth coriander and Thai basil flowers for added freshness. For more of a feed, serve alongside rice noodles or jasmine rice if you prefer.