Chicken and Rice Soup with Green Chiles and Ginger- when you feeling “fluish”

What to do when a friend is fighting that winter flu, or worse, the latest COVID variant?  Luckily, it’s only aches and pains, stuffiness and coughs.  How about this chicken and rice soup from Laos?  It’s healthy, warm and comforting…  And, the very best news- You don’t have to be sick to enjoy it.  It is delicious!

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Ingredients:

4 tsp    sugar

  2           1-inch piece ginger 

  5 tbsp      fresh lime juice

  6 tbsp (or more) fish sauce

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Kosher salt

  6           Thai green chiles, thinly sliced crosswise

  6           scallions, thinly sliced crosswise

6 tbsp   crushed skin-on, roasted, unsalted peanuts

Preparation

Combine sugar and ½ cup hot water in a small bowl, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add ginger and let cool; drain and set aside.

Bring chicken, stock, shallots, and garlic to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through, 20–25 minutes. Transfer chicken and garlic to a cutting board and let cool; discard shallots. Smash garlic to a paste using the side of a chef’s knife; return to saucepan and stir to combine. Shred chicken; set aside.

Bring stock mixture to a boil and add rice. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender and has broken (soup should have slightly thickened), 30–40 minutes. Stir in lime juice, fish sauce, and reserved chicken; taste and adjust seasonings with more fish sauce and salt if needed.

Divide soup among bowls; top with reserved ginger, chiles, scallions, and peanuts.

Soup can be made 3 days ahead; cover and chill. Reheat over medium-low, adding water or stock to thin as needed.