1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 small leek, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger puree
2 stalks lemongrass, minced
5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 red chilies, chopped
1 tablespoon ground coriander seed
2 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups coconut milk
2 scallions, chopped
3 tablespoons mint, chopped
4 teaspoons chili oil
salt or fish sauce

1. Heat vegetable oil with celery, leek, ginger, lemongrass, garlic, chilies and coriander seed over medium heat.
2. Sweat until celery is tender, then add the chicken and broth. Bring to a boil.
3. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer until chicken is cooked through to the center, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt or fish sauce.
4. Stir in the coconut milk and heat through, then ladle into bowls. Top with scallions, mint and a drizzle of chili oil to serve.

Makes 6 servings

Since Shannon has such a fondness for Moxie’s restaurant and I recreated the Madras Curry Penne for her with a reasonable amount of accuracy, I figured I'd try my hand at a soup there that I've always really enjoyed. They just call it "spicy Thai soup," but it's not particularly spicy. After going to the noodle restaurant yesterday (which I ate at again for lunch, by the way), and after reading dozens of Thai restaurant menus while walking down the street, it has come to my attention that this soup is basically a variation of tom yum (hot and sour) soup. After further investigation now that I have the internet, I've discovered that it is actually more like Tom Kha Gai, or Thai chicken soup in coconut milk. I'm guessing tom means soup in Thai.

I did not have the net while trying to recreate this soup, so I didn't have a base recipe to go from, but the flavor was pretty similar. There was a textural difference because I didn't include rice like the Moxie's version, but it was basically the same. It didn't look at all like I expected it to though. The Moxie's version has a much more pronounced orange hue to it and all of the recipes I've seen now all contain soy sauce, which I would think would make it more brown. Anyhow, I'm still happy with the results and will definitely make this again. Perhaps I can figure out how to improve the recipe in the meantime.