Gluten Free Lemongrass Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

This soup reminds me of spring because that's when I’m thinking about my garden. I'm visiting garden centres and looking for a Thai basil plant that will give me fresh basil all summer.

• Carrot, red pepper & green onions - I usually have all these in my fridge.

• Lemongrass, fresh or frozen - 1 tablespoon chopped = 1 stalk of fresh lemongrass. For convenience I buy frozen, chopped lemongrass. When you see my pictures with fresh lemongrass I bought it for a cooking class or Dinner Club night with my friends.

• Ginger - If you don't use this ingredient often enough to keep it fresh, freeze whole pieces. Grate it right out of the freezer. Peeling is optional.

• Gluten free chicken stock - Brands change over time so I don't have one to recommend. I buy a brand with a certified gluten free label.

• Rice noodles - I keep a variety of widths on hand for many Asian dishes with noodles.

• Coconut milk - Check out this post on canned coconut milk. There are different percentages of fat and you don't want to confuse it with coconut water or coconut cream. Bottom line, if you cook you need cans of coconut milk in your pantry.

• Cooked chicken - It's always a smart move to have a few recipes like this in mind when you're cooking chicken. For me that would be a quesadilla, chicken salad (or Waldorf) or my Southwestern Chicken Bowl.

• Asian fish sauce - Essential for Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. You need it!

• Bean sprouts - I might skip these but if I buy them my Shrimp Pad Thai will be on the menu in the same week.

• Thai basil - I'll call this optional but do buy it when you see it or, better yet, grow it in your garden. It's not the same as Italian basil and it's amazing! Use it up in salad rolls.

• Fresh lime - If you live north of the 49th parallel you might have lime juice concentrate in your fridge. That will do but buy fresh when you can. It makes a difference.

See recipe card for complete ingredient list and exact amounts.

Instructions for Using Rice Noodles

Gluten free cooks want to know all their options for rice noodles, including rice paper wrappers and other non-rice Asian noodles. That's what I'm talking about in this video.

Substitutions & Variations

When you're baking you need to be precise. When you're cooking you can wing it. I try to make a new recipe as written the first time to get the essence of it and that's what I recommend here.

Vegetarian - Substitute canned young jackfruit for the chicken and use vegetable stock. Use this homemade vegan fish sauce substitute and your soup will be amazing!

Thai basil - Do not substitute with Italian basil, or what you might call regular basil, or dried basil. The taste is totally different. Just skip the basil and keep an eye out for the real thing every time you're in an Asian market or well-stocked grocery store.

Bean sprouts - These are typically sold in a bag with more than you need for a single recipe. To avoid food waste keep a list of a few recipes you'll make when you buy them. I can always use them up in my everyday vegetable stir fry.

Hot sauce - I use sambal oelek or Sriracha for Asian dishes.

Get The Tools

Everyday cooks don't need too many tools to make soup. Here are some I use.

• The largest pot in a typical set of pots is perfect for making soup.
• A decent cutting board that is ½-inch thick or even 1-inch thick so it doesn't warp or move around when you're cutting.
• The best quality chef's knife in the largest size you’re comfortable with. My 10-inch Victorinox is 30 years old and I have no need to replace it. However, I do have knife envy when I look at this fancy selection of knives by Dalstrong. The message is, buy good quality because it will last a lifetime.
• A Microplane grater for grating frozen ginger.