Chicken, Coconut and Galangal Rice Noodle Soup

This is my version of a Tom Kha - inspired by the classic but not bound by it. The addition of rice noodles turns it from a side into a proper meal, and the fact that it works with leftover roast chicken makes it one of those recipes worth having in your back pocket all year round. We've had versions of this soup on at Farang over the years, with prawns and mussels as well as chicken. All of them work. This one is the easiest.

The trick is the broth and it barely qualifies as a trick. You're simmering aromatics in stock and coconut cream for ten minutes, then dropping the cooked chicken in at the end to warm through. Nothing here needs skill or experience. What it needs is good ingredients prepared properly.

Galangal is worth a word. It looks like ginger but it isn't - tougher, woodier, more medicinal and earthy. To bruise it properly, peel off any imperfections and wash off any mud, then give it a firm whack in a pestle and mortar. Hard enough to open up the centre of the root but not so hard you destroy it. That opening is what lets the flavour into the broth quickly. The same goes for the lemongrass.

Pak chi farang is listed in the garnish. You'll also see it labelled as sawtooth coriander or Thai parsley depending on where you buy it. It has a strong coriander flavour - if you're one of those people who finds coriander tastes like soap (there are a lot of you, it's a genetic thing, not a character flaw) then steer well clear. For everyone else it adds a fresh, punchy finish. Regular coriander works fine as a substitute.

Chicken, Coconut and Galangal Rice Noodle Soup

Serves: 2 | Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 15 mins | Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 300g cooked leftover chicken, shredded into bite-sized pieces

• 2 bird's eye chillies, bruised in a pestle (use 1 if you want it milder)

• 2 sticks lemongrass, cut into 4cm pieces and bruised

• 40g galangal, peeled and bruised

• 10 cherry tomatoes, lightly crushed with your hands

• 6 Thai shallots, peeled and bruised

• 10g Thai basil leaves

• 1-2 tbsp fish sauce

• 300ml chicken stock

• 300ml coconut cream

• Half a lime, juiced

• 1 pinch flaked sea salt

Optional garnish

• Crispy shallots

• Crispy garlic

• Chopped pak chi farang (sawtooth coriander) or regular coriander

• Thai basil sprigs

• Lime cheeks

• Blanched rice noodles, to make it a more substantial meal

Method

1. Put the chicken stock, half the coconut cream, sea salt, galangal, cherry tomatoes, chillies, lemongrass, Thai shallots and 1 tbsp fish sauce into a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 8-10 minutes until the aromatics have done their work and the tomatoes have softened.

2. Drop in the shredded chicken and simmer for another minute until warmed through.

3. Take off the heat and stir in the remaining coconut cream. Squeeze the lime juice in and add the Thai basil. Taste - it should be creamy, salty, lightly spicy and fresh. Add more fish sauce if it needs salt, more lime if it needs lifting.

4. Ladle into bowls over blanched rice noodles if using. Finish with crispy shallots, crispy garlic, pak chi farang and a lime cheek alongside.

Chef's notes

Pick the meat from a leftover roast chicken and this takes about 15 minutes start to finish. It also works well with raw king prawns or mussels - just add them in step 2 and cook until done, about 3 minutes for prawns and until the mussels open.

The galangal, lemongrass and chillies are for flavour only - don't eat them. They go in whole and come out whole.

More recipes at faranglondon.co.uk. Sauces and pastes for cooking Thai at home at payst.co.uk.