Serves 4
For the stock
Pack of 6 - 8 free range chicken thighs - or 4 legs.
1 stalk lemongrass - bashed into bits.
chunk of ginger - about the size of a thumb, cuts into slices.
Handful of wild garlic or 4 scallions finely shredded.
1 Stalk celery chopped into chunks.
approx 4 pints of water.
For the soup:
100g approx of EV coconut oil.
100g dried unsweetened coconut
4 cloves garlic
1 small - med onion cut quite chunkily.
1 large red pepper, finely spiralized into noodles.
Good glug of toasted sesame oil
Good glug of Braggs aminos or soy sauce
100g of Chard / spinach / cabbage / seaweed - whatever greens you fancy or have available.
100ml double / heavy cream
1 large red chilli (optional)
Optional - as many large prawns per person as you are prepared to eat and pay for.
Salt to taste.
Start by making your broth.
Put all the broth ingredients into a pan, bring to boil and simmer down over a couple of hours until you have a clear and bright broth and the chicken is easily falling off the bone. You can faff around skimming it if you want but life is short so I wouldn’t recommend it.
You should be aiming to reduce the water down by half. You may want to cover the broth to achieve the right consistency for the chicken - or you could make it in a slow cooker and start with less water.
When the chicken is cooked, strain the broth, take the chunks of chicken out and shred the meat. Set to one side.
To make the soup, fry the onion and the garlic together in the coconut oil.
Meanwhile, boil the dried coconut in a pan with a couple of ladles of the stock for a few minutes then liquidise it with an emersion blender.
Once the onion is soft, add the dried coconut liquid and the remaining stock. Bring to the boil then add the aminos, the red pepper and the greens. Cook until the red pepper has softened then taste and add salt if it’s required.
Add back as much shredded chicken meat as you want to use - you may have more meat than you need if you’re using prawns so you keep it for something else. Or you can eat it. Up to you!
If you’re adding prawns, add them to the pan and cook them for a couple of minutes, add the cream, then serve immediately.
Garnish the bowls with finely sliced red chilli and / or a few bits of scallion or wild garlic.
