A Healthy-ish Lunch: Malaysian Chicken Soup

size medium = indulgent but healthy-ish

Have you ever heard of the restaurant chain Pret A Manger?  If your answer is no, that's totally fine because I am about to give you a recipe for their Malaysian Chicken Soup - a soup that is going to blow your mind, and not blow a rip in your jeans (as long as you aren't eating quarts of it). 

If you HAVE heard of Pret, and if you happen to have one near you - then I suggest you head on over and pick up a medium sized cup of this soup for lunch tomorrow.  The soup is creamy, with a hint of coconut and chili peppers with big chunks of white meat chicken.  It's a good comforting lunch for the middle of the week when work is stressing you out. 

I eat this soup as frequently as I can - and for months I thought to myself - "I wish I had the recipe so I could make gallons of this at home to save money.  Well, my friends - as I mentioned above - that day is upon us.

So here's the recipe - make it, love it. 
Note:  I find that the version in the store needs salt (about a teaspoon or so) - so you'll want to taste this as you go and adjust the seasonings as necessary. 

Pret-A-Manger Malaysian Chicken Soup (serves 4, not 2 - remember, we're trying to be healthy)

INGREDIENTS
The paste
1/2 teaspoon of dried, red chilli flakes
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
A 2cm square block of galangal
(aromatic fresh ginger), finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons of turmeric powder
2 medium sized red chillies (seeds removed)
and finely chopped
1 stick of lemon grass, finely chopped
2 medium shallots, finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

The soup
1 litre chicken stock
2 medium potatoes, peeled and roughly diced
2 large, boneless chicken thighs cut
into chunks
200ml coconut cream
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut roughly
into chunks
2 tablespoons of fish sauce (you can vary this
amount to taste)
3 spring onions, sliced
Juice of a fresh lime

MAKING THE PASTE
1. Scatter the red chilli flakes into a large saucepan
with 2 tablespoons of water and simmer for about
5 minutes making sure the water doesn’t dry up.
2. Add the garlic, galangal, turmeric, red chillies,
lemon grass, shallots and vegetable oil and gently
fry for about 20 minutes, stirring now and again.

MAKING THE SOUP
1. Pour the chicken stock onto the paste and add
the potatoes.
2. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 20
minutes (or until the potatoes are soft) and
blend thoroughly.
3. Add the sweet potato, coconut cream and
chicken and then simmer until the sweet potato
is cooked (around 10 minutes).
4. Add the fish sauce, spring onion and lime juice
and the soup is ready to serve

Do you love this soup?  Let me know in the comments.

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