Opening Day

My blog experience is very limited. My general knowledge comes from episodes of The Office when Creed plugs his spot, so let's just say this is something new for me.

When naming this page, I wasn't trying to evoke images of Alton Brown and his Food Network show. The title is really the idea that food doesn't have to be all fancy pants to be good. It doesn't matter if its a hamburger or a beef tenderloin, I just want it to taste good and not be full of things I can't pronounce. (And no, I'm not referring to products from the markets in Chinatown.) What I'm interested in blogging about is the food I cook, bake, eat, or see along the way.

Since I'm coming down with a bit of a cold, I'm having some chicken and rice soup today. This isn't the traditional chicken soup that all good matriarchs make for their sneezing-coughing-sniffling family members. Although I'm not against the classic flavors, I just prefer my soup with a nod to Asian influences and in this case that means ginger, cilantro, and lime. The soup is actually leftover from the batch I had made this weekend for my boyfriend, who evidently passed his germs along to me. I love the warm and cozy feeling you get from chicken soup, like your going to feel better even if you're on your way to the airport and your flight just got cancelled. And rebooked for the next morning at 6:00 AM.

Asian Chicken and Rice Soup
Adapted from Gourmet's Thai-Style Chicken and Rice Soup

8 cups chicken stock or broth (homemade if you've got it)
4 cups of water
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 large bunch cilantro, 1/4 roughly chopped
1 cup basmati or jasmine rice
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken, cut into 1/3 inch pieces
1 cup snow peas, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 scallions, ends cut off and white and green parts thinly sliced
2 small shallots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspon hot sauce
1 teaspoon salt or to tasted depending on the stock
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Combine stock, water, garlic, ginger, ground coriander, and 3/4 of cilantro in a 5-6 quart stockpot
Simmer until ginger is softened, about 15 minutes
Strain through paper-towel-lined sieve and into a bowl
Discard solids and return soup to stock pot
Add rice to soup and simmer, stirring occasionally until tender, about 12 minutes
Add chicken and gently simmer until cooked through, about 3 minutes
Add snow peas and cook for 1 minute
Stir in scallions, shallot, lime juice, hot sauce, salt and pepper
Pour into bowls and top with remaining cilantro