Hot & Sour Thai Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken broth, homemade or canned
12 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh

4 quarter-size slices of ginger root

1 teaspoon brown sugar

4 stalks lemon grass

2 limes

3 tablespoons minced shallots

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 to 2 tablespoons garlic chili pepper sauce
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Instruction:

Add to a medium soup pot; broth, chicken, ginger and brown sugar. To prepare lemon grass, remove all but bottom 5 inches of stalks. Place 8 to 10 outside sheaths into soup pot (it's used like bay leaf). Mince the bottom 2 inches of the tender inside leaves and set aside 2 to 3 tablespoons.

With a potato peeler, peel 6 strips of rind from one lime and add to broth. (Make sure to use only outer green rind - not any inside white pith, which is bitter-tasting.) Bring broth to a boil and turn down to a simmer. Cover, and cook at an active simmer for 15 minutes.While chicken is cooking, grate rind (and no pith) of remaining lime to measure 1 teaspoon and set aside. Then juice limes, to measure out 3 tablespoons juice; set aside.

When chicken is cooked through, remove from broth to plate, and shred with two forks. Strain broth of any solids. Put chicken and any accumulated juices back into seasoned broth. To the pot, add minced lemon grass, grated lime rind and juice, shallots, fish sauce and garlic chili pepper sauce. Bring back to a simmer and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve immediately. Serve small bowls of chopped cilantro and garlic chili pepper sauce on the side for added garnish and spice.