Spicy Thai Chicken and Coconut Soup

We are soup eaters.  In fact, this week we are going to have soup 4 times.  I cooked this soup Monday night, my brother made Stir Fry Soup last night, Andrew is making soup tonight (he was undecided last night about what kind of soup) and Mark is making soup tomorrow night. Mark is going to try his hand at an authentic French Onion soup. Yum!  Then we are going to vote for the best soup of the week.  Like I said, we are soup eaters.  This recipe for Thai soup is easy and tasty and perfect for a weeknight dinner because it comes together in about 30 minutes.  I just sent this to Nancy because she loves Thai food and this is a perfect blend of spicy, sweet, salty and sour. 

The ingredients:
1 Qt (2 cartons) chicken stock
1 stalk of lemon grass, cracked open with the flat side of a knife (or the lemongrass in a tube found in the produce department)
4 limes, juiced plus 1 lime peel (3-4 pieces using a vegetable peeler, no white pith)
1 3 inch piece of ginger peeled and sliced thin
2 small Thai chilies, halved lengthwise (or 2 red jalapenos, sliced thin into rounds)
2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 13 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
3 tbsp soy sauce (you can add a bit more to taste before serving)
1 tbsp sugar
1 package of sliced mushrooms
½ red onion, thinly sliced into ½ rounds

1 roasted chicken from the deli or 2 chicken breasts, poached and shredded into large chunks
Salt and Pepper, to taste
¼ c cilantro, roughly chopped
5-6 basil leaves, roughly chopped
3 green onions, thinly sliced

The method:
In a large pot: Add the chicken stock, lime peel, lemon grass (or 3 tbsp of lemongrass from the tube), ginger, garlic, and chili’s or jalapenos. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. In the meantime, shred the chicken and prep other ingredients. Uncover and add the coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, mushrooms, red onions and shredded chicken. Simmer for 5-10 more minutes. Adjust seasoning and add the cilantro, basil and green onions. Serve with udon noodles, cooked al dente or rice. You can pick out the ginger, lime and lemongrass before serving.