Coconut Turkey Soup

You probably don't have the ingredients for this lying around your kitchen. I wouldn't have, either, but my thoughtful and generous mom brought them over along with the recipe, my dad right behind her proclaiming this the BEST soup he's ever had.

I'd never even seen lemongrass before, but Mom said she bought it at Safeway. So there you go. It looks like a large green onion, or maybe like a leek. So keep your eyes open in the produce section. I don't know if the Thai fish sauce and Thai chili paste came from the grocery store or a specialty market. But I do know the soup was delicious, and it went together quickly. Shopping for the ingredients will be the hardest part.

This is a perfect recipe to use some of that leftover Thanksgiving turkey.

THAI COCONUT TURKEY SOUP
14-oz. can coconut milk
14-oz. can chicken broth (or use about 2 t. powdered chicken bouillon in 1 3/4 c. water)
6 quarter-sized slices fresh ginger
1 stalk lemongrass, cut into one-inch pieces
leftover cooked turkey, shredded -- as much as you want (about 1 c., maybe?)
1 c. sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 T. fresh lime juice
1 T. Thai fish sauce
1 t. sugar
1 t. Thai chili paste
optional garnishes: fresh basil and cilantro, minced

In medium saucepan, mix together coconut milk, broth, ginger, and lemongrass. Bring to boil. Fish out ginger and lemongrass and discard. Add turkey, mushrooms, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and chili paste and simmer over low heat until mushrooms are cooked (5 minutes or so). Garnish with basil and cilantro if desired.