Thai chicken coconut milk soup

Yet another home-made post. Are you seeing a pattern here? We're really trying to save moola by not eating out so much, but I'm starting to think we've gone too far!!!

Of course, if our "try it on a whim recipes" keep turning out like this - we'll survive. When the red-head told me she was going to make this concoction, I was skeptical. In recent years Thai food is really starting to interest me, so I figured what the heck.

This recipe came out of the Good Housekeeping Cookbook, which really is a catch all for the best recipes in a variety of styles. It's got soups, breads, deserts, ethnic, and so on. We've tried a number of supposedly ethnic dishes, like Chinese dumplings, tamale pie, and Greek lemon soup. But this one was by far the best, and from what I could tell, most authentic tasting. How can I tell? It tasted like nothing I've ever had before. The soup has several layers of flavors.

First, curry paste, ginger, cilantro, and and other goodies are steeped in chicken broth. Then onions and shallots are sauteed in coconut milk, then the chicken is added. The strained broth is added back in with coconut milk, fish sauce, and lime juice. To finish, throw in a little jalapeno and cilantro. Easily one of the best soups I've had in a long time.