Day 27: Thai Coconut Soup and Fresh Spring Rolls

After my duck debacle earlier in the week, I wanted something simple for dinner last night. I decided to make one of Jim's favorites, Thai chicken and coconut soup. This is a simple recipe: throw together homemade chicken stock, lemongrass, ginger, thai chilies, lime juice, and fish sauce. Right before serving, toss in some chopped chicken breast and a can of coconut soup. When the chicken is cooked through, garnish with cilantro, and serve. Ta-da!

We had several cooked chicken legs left over from making stock earlier in the week, so instead of the usual chicken breast, I shredded the leg meat and tossed it into the soup. Jim thought it was even better with the dark meat.

To go along with the meal, I made fresh spring rolls, something I'd never tried before. I didn't have a real recipe, so I was a little nervous, and I had to go to a sketchy looking Asian grocery store next to a strip club to find rice paper wrappers. Boy, was it worth it.

To make the rolls, I took some of the shredded chicken and tossed it in a little bit of rice wine vinegar, then rolled the chicken up in softened rice paper wrappers with rice vermicelli, lettuce, cilantro, basil, mint, cucumber, and carrot. It took me a couple of tries before I got the hang of rolling up the soggy, sticky rice paper, but the results were amazing. I served the spring rolls with a dipping sauce made of equal parts fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar. The rolls were so clean, refreshing, and delicious... I woke up this morning wanting some for breakfast, and I'm making another batch for tonight's dinner.