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Thai Hot-and-Sour Chicken Soup with Wide Rice Sticks

Some varieties of noodles suggest soaking them in boiling water instead of cooking them; check your package instructions before preparing them.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 6

Ingredients

7

ounces wide rice sticks

6

cups homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock

2

lemongrass stalks, bottom 8 inches only, trimmed and crushed

16

slices (1/4 inch thick each) jarred or canned bamboo shoots

1

piece (1 1/2 inches) peeled fresh galangal or ginger, thickly sliced

8

fresh or frozen kaffir lime leaves, plus more thinly sliced for garnish

3

tablespoons Asian fish sauce

Juice of 2 limes

1

tablespoon palm or granulated sugar

4

fresh Thai chiles, thinly sliced

2

boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each), cut into 1/2-inch-thick, 2-inch-long strips

3

ounces snow peas, trimmed

3

ounces oyster mushrooms

1

/2 cup chopped (1/2-inch pieces) Chinese yard-long or green beans

1

/4 cup chopped garlic chives or scallions, plus more for garnish

Need to make a substitution?

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles; cook according to package instructions, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold running water. Set aside.

    Step 2

    Bring the stock, lemongrass, bamboo shoots, galangal, and 4 lime leaves to a boil in a large pot. Reduce the heat; simmer 8 minutes. Stir in half of the fish sauce, half of the lime juice, half of the sugar, and half of the chiles; cook 4 minutes.

    Step 3

    Stir in the chicken, and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Taste, and add more fish sauce, sugar, or chiles as desired. Discard the lemongrass and lime leaves. Stir in the snow peas, mushrooms, beans, chives, and remaining 4 lime leaves. Remove from heat, and stir in remaining lime juice. Divide the soup and noodles among 6 serving bowls; garnish with lime leaves and chives.

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Reprinted with permission from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics by Martha Stewart Living Magazine, copyright © 2007. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of The Crown Publishing Group. Buy the full book from Amazon.