Chicken in the Pot, Thai Style

Ingredients

5 cups chicken broth
4 slices ginger, smashed
4 kaffir lime leaves
1 or 2 fresh chillies, left whole
2 stalks lemongrass
3 pounds (1.5 kg) chicken
2 carrots, peeled and cut into half-inch rounds
3 leeks, white part, washed and halved
8 garlic cloves, peeled
4 ounces (100 gr) of green beans, topped and tailed
2 zucchinis, thickly sliced
4 Chinese mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
or 4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stalks removed
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp fish sauce
pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Instructions

Serves 4.. Simmer chicken broth, ginger, kaffir lime leaves chillies and lemongrass for 5 minutes. Discard all but 2 inches (5 cm) of lemongrass root, cut in half, smash and place in chicken cavity. Add chicken breast, side up, to stock. Add carrots, simmer 15 minutes, turn chicken over, add leeks and garlic, simmer 20 minutes longer. Turn chicken breast side up again, add green beans, zucchinis and Chinese mushrooms, simmer a further 15 minutes. Remove chicken and vegetables, keep warm. Season broth with lime juice, fish sauce and pepper to taste. Discard ginger. Skin and cut up chicken, discarding backbone. Place on platter with vegetables. Sprinkle with coriander. Vary the vegetables to suit your taste, making sure the hard ones go into the pot at the beginning of cooking, the more delicate toward the end. Use one can of low-salt chicken broth and make up the rest with water or use good quality stock cubes. Serve soup separately and pour Spicy Lime Sauce over chicken. Spicy Lime Sauce 1 tsp. garlic, chopped 1 tsp. Chinese chili sauce 1 tbsp. fish sauce 1/4 cup water 3 tbsp. lime juice 1 tbsp. brown sugar 2 tbsp. grated carrot 2 tbsp. chopped fresh mint Whisk together garlic, chili sauce, fish sauce, water, lime juice and brown sugar. Stir in carrot and mint. Serve with chicken.