Quick Asian Chili-Lime Chicken Soup

Ingredients

• 12 ounces boneless, skinless, chicken breast, sliced into 1/4-inch strips
• 1 to 2 tablespoons fish sauce, divided
• 6 ounces rice noodles
• 6 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
• 2 stalks lemongrass, minced
• 3 to 5 long green chilies
• 2 to 3 tablespoons lime juice from 3 large limes
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 8 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 large bunch cilantro, roots trimmed, rinsed
• 1 medium onion, sliced into thin rings

Directions

1. In a small bowl, coat the chicken with 2 teaspoons fish sauce and put it aside. Place the rice noodles in cool water to soak while you start the broth.
2. In a large pot over medium heat, bring the chicken broth, lemongrass, and chilies to a gentle simmer. Let it bubble quietly for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 2 tablespoons lime juice, the sugar, and the mushrooms. Continue simmering until the mushrooms have softened partway, about 2 minutes.
4. Slice the stems off the cilantro and drop the stems into the pot. Adjust the broth with more lime juice, chilies, fish sauce, and sugar to taste.
5. Add the chicken and keep the soup at a gentle simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, about 1 minute. Drain the noodles, stir them into the soup, and simmer only briefly, until they are cooked but still firm. Finish with the sliced onion and generous handfuls of cilantro leaves.