Thai curry soup with chicken and mie noodles

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 2 cans of chicken stock or chicken broth, approx. 400 ml each
• 1 can coconut milk, full-fat, approx. 400 ml
• 2 tbsp, heaped peanut butter
• 1 tbsp Thai curry paste, red, more if you like it hotter
• 75 ml soy sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove(s), finely diced
• ½ lemon(s), juice, or a whole lime
• 1 fresh chili pepper(s), finely chopped
• 2 bell peppers, different colors, in large pieces
• 1 small zucchini, sliced
• 200 g mushrooms, sliced
• 2 carrots, sliced
• ½ leek(s), in rings
• 1 small Pak Choi, cut into strips
• 500 g chicken breast fillet(s), in very thin pieces
• salt and pepper
• 2 plates of Mie noodles, approx. 84 g each
• 1 bunch of coriander leaves, if you like
• some sesame oil, dark roasted

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 35 minutes

very simple, despite many ingredients

Combine the first 9 ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Check if the liquid is too mild and add more Thai paste if necessary. Once the liquid is boiling, add the vegetables. The contents of the pot will be quite soupy, and that’s how it should be. While the vegetables are gently simmering, season the chicken with salt and pepper, fry briefly in a pan, and set aside. It doesn’t need to be cooked yet. After about 15 minutes, the vegetables will be al dente. Season the soup to taste for any salt or spiciness. Remove the pot from the heat, add the seared meat, and cover to keep the soup hot. Pour boiling salted water over the noodles and let stand for 5 minutes until tender (see package instructions). Then discard the water, fluff the noodles with a fork, and add them to the soup. Perfume the soup with sesame oil. If you like, you can add the cleaned and chopped cilantro just before serving. But be careful: Taste it first, because opinions are divided on cilantro. If someone doesn’t like it, they won’t enjoy the whole dish. The soup is really extremely simple and quick to make. Incidentally, you can change the vegetables to your liking: white cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, soaked moo-err mushrooms, spinach (mix in just before serving), spring onions, bamboo shoots… anything goes.