Thai Style Coconut Chicken Soup- Courtesy of Slow Cooker Revolution (originally posted April 12, 2014)

This soup was uh-may-zing! Mr. Pickypants and I both agreed it was totally delicious and definitely a repeater. It will, without a doubt, go into my regular rotation. It achieved the perfect balance of sweet, spicy, and sour (as such a soup should) without calling for strange ingredients that require crazy store hopping. It gets a 5 out of 5 fork salute! It definitely took a little more work than so many of the mediocre slow cooker recipes out there, but the little extra steps made such a difference in preventing the flavor from becoming washed out.

Thai Style Coconut Chicken Soup- Courtesy of Slow Cooker Revolution

Serves: 6-8

Cooking time: 4-6 Hours on Low

Ingredients:
2 onions, minced
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 T minced or grated fresh ginger
1 T vegetable oil
4 C low-sodium chicken broth
2 (14 oz) cans of coconut milk
2 stalks of lemon grass, bottom 5 inches only, bruised
2 carrots, peeled and sliced, 1/4 in thick
3 T fish sauce
10 cilantro stems, tied together with twine
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
Salt and pepper
8 oz white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin
3 T fresh lime juice (from 2 limes)
1 T sugar
2 t Thai red curry paste
Garnishes:
1/2 C fresh cilantro leaves
2 fresh Thai, serrano, or jalepeno chiles, stemmed, seeded, and sliced thin
2 scallions, sliced thin
Lime wedges, for serving

Directions:
1. Microwave onions, garlic, ginger, and oil in bowl, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.
2. Stir broth, 1 can of coconut milk, lemon grass, carrots, 1 T fish sauce, and cilantro stems into slow cooker. Season chicken with salt and pepper and nestle into slow cooker. Cover and cook until chicken is tender- 4 to 6 hours on low.
3. Transfer chicken to cutting board, let cool slightly, then shred into bite-size pieces. Let soup settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using large spoon. Discard lemon grass and cilantro stems.
4. Stir in mushrooms, cover, and cook on high until mushrooms are tender (5-15 minutes). Microwave remaining can of coconut milk in bowl until hot, about 3 minutes, then whisk in remaining 2 T fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and curry paste to dissolve.
5. Stir hot coconut milk mixture and shredded chicken into soup and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with garnishes.