Thai Coconut Soup with Lemon Grass and Sugarcane Chicken Dumplings

Thai Coconut Soup

2 cups Soup Base, recipe follows
1 cup coconut milk
6 Kaffir lime leaves
Salt and pepper
Lime juice, to taste
About 1 tablespoon palm sugar, to taste
Sugarcane Chicken Dumplings, recipe follows

Garnish

1 ounce glass noodles, soaked in water until softened
1/4 cup julienne carrots
1/4 cup julienne leeks
4 Thai chiles, stems removed, split in 1/2 lengthwise, seeded
4 Kaffir lime leaves, cut in a thin chiffonade

To the soup base, add the coconut milk and lime leaves. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, lime juice and sugar. Add the dumplings and simmer until done, about 3 minutes.

Divide the softened glass noodles on 4 soup bowls. Place 2 dumplings crisscross on top of the noodles, leaning to the side of the bowl. Divide the soup onto the 4 bowls. Garnish each bowl with julienne of carrots, leeks, Thai chiles and a lime leaf. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

Soup Base

2 1/2 cups lobster stock
1 tablespoon chili paste
1 lemon grass, cut into 2-inch sticks
10 fresh Thai basil leaves
1 Thai bird chile

In a saucepan, combine the lobster stock, chili paste, lemon grass, Thai basil leaves and Thai bird chile and bring to a boil. Reduce until only 2 cups remain.

Sugarcane Chicken Dumplings

4 ounces ground lean chicken
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon mushroom soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons potato starch
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
8 (4-inch) sugarcane sticks

In a mixing bowl, combine the ground chicken, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce, potato starch and black pepper. Mix until well blended. Divide into 8 portions. Wrap each portion around the end of each sugarcane stick. Reserve.