Thai Chicken Soup
1 pound skinned boned chicken breast or thighs, rinsed and cut into 3/4 inch pieces
4 C. chicken broth
2 C. diagonally sliced carrots
1 large onion chopped
2 Tbls. grated ginger root
3 garlic cloves minced
2 lemon grass stalks cut 1 inch pieces
Or 1 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 can unsweetened coconut milk 15 oz.
1 medium red, yellow and/or green bell pepper cut 1/2 inch pieces
2 cans straw or button mushrooms-4 oz. each drained
1/4 C. snipped cilantro
1/3 C. chopped roasted peanuts
In a 3 1/2, 4 or 5 quart crockery cooker, combine chicken, broth, carrots, onion, ginger root, garlic, lemon grass and crushed red pepper. Cover, cook on low heat setting 6 to 7 hours or high heat setting 3 to 3 1/2 hours. If necessary, skim off fat. Stir coconut milk, bell pepper, mushrooms and cilantro into chicken mixture. Cover, let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Remove and discard lemon grass. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle peanuts over each serving.