Unlike most chicken soups, Delia Smith’s chicken soup is a clear, hot and sour Thai broth that’s ready in about 40 minutes. Chicken stock simmers with lemon grass, ginger, chilli and coriander stalks to take on their flavour, then thin slivers of chicken breast poach in it for 5 minutes. Peas, sugar snaps, lime and fish sauce go in last, enough for 4 deep bowls.
You’ll find it in the spring chapter of The Delia Collection: Soup (2003), and Delia is open that the recipe came from Sarah Randell, the editor of the series. It’s the only chicken soup I can find in her books, so there’s no traditional British one to give you here.
It’s based on Thai tom yum, which means it tastes sharp with lime and tamarind and hot from bird’s-eye chillies, and Delia points out that it’s low in fat. The vegetables keep their crunch because they only cook for a couple of minutes.
Delia Smith’s Hot and Sour Thai Chicken Broth
Course: SoupsCuisine: ThaiDifficulty: Easy4
servings15
minutes25
minutes150
kcalClear and spicy, with slivers of chicken, crisp peas and sugar snaps ladled over coriander leaves. Page 33 of her Soup collection, for 4.
Ingredients
- For the soup:
2 skinless chicken breasts (175g/6oz each)
1.2 litres (2 pints) chicken stock
a small bunch of coriander (10g/½oz)
2 small red bird’s-eye chillies
1 stalk of lemon grass, roughly chopped
a small piece (2.5cm/1in) of ginger, peeled and sliced
2 medium, ripe tomatoes
3 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced, green parts included
50g (2oz) fresh, shelled peas
50g (2oz) sugar snap peas, cut in half
1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
1 tablespoon tamarind purée
juice of a large lime (about 2 tablespoons)
Directions
- Prepare: Pick the coriander leaves off the stalks and keep both. Cut one chilli in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds.
- Infuse: Put the stock into a large saucepan with the coriander stalks, halved chilli, lemon grass and ginger. Bring to the boil, stir, then cover and simmer very gently for 15 minutes.
- Tomatoes and chicken: Meanwhile, cover the tomatoes with boiling water for 1 minute, drain and skin them, then quarter, deseed and cut each quarter into 3 thin slices. Halve each chicken breast widthways, cut each half into 5 or 6 long strips, then halve each strip lengthways into thin slivers.
- Poach: Strain the stock through a colander into a bowl, throw away the flavourings and pour the stock back into the pan. At simmering point, add the chicken and half the spring onions, cover and poach gently for 5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. While it poaches, halve, deseed and finely slice the second chilli, then wash your hands.
- Finish: Add the peas, sugar snaps, sliced chilli, fish sauce, tamarind and lime juice, and simmer gently for 2 to 3 minutes, until the peas are just tender but still have some bite. Stir in the tomato slices at the last minute.
- Serve: Divide the coriander leaves between 4 deep bowls, ladle the piping hot soup over them, scatter over the rest of the spring onions and serve straight away.
Notes
- Bird's-eye chillies are small but fierce. For a gentler soup I'd leave out the second, sliced chilli and keep only the half that flavours the stock, which is my own suggestion.
- Peas in the pod are at their best in late spring and early summer. Out of season, frozen petits pois are my own swap, added at the same point.
FAQs
Is there a classic Delia chicken soup?
Not a creamy British one. For a plain homemade chicken soup, the nearest recipe in her books is the turkey soup in Delia’s Happy Christmas, where the whole carcass simmers into a stock and vegetables are blended into it.
A roast chicken carcass works the same way, which is my own swap rather than her recipe.
Can I make it a chicken noodle soup?
Yes, though the noodles are my own addition. I’d cook a nest of thin rice noodles separately, drain them and put them in the bowls with the coriander leaves before ladling the soup over. Cooking them in the broth would cloud it and soak up the stock.
What stock should I use?
I find a good home-made chicken stock gives the cleanest flavour. The one in the same Soup collection makes about 850ml a batch, so you’d need roughly one and a half batches for the 1.2 litres here, which is my own maths.
Delia also suggests it’s nice made with Japanese miso stock, which I’d expect to give a more savoury broth.
How do I make it with prawns?
Delia says it’s just as good made with tiger prawns. I’d add raw peeled prawns at the poaching stage and give them a couple of minutes, until they turn pink, rather than the 5 minutes the chicken needs.
Why does my soup taste too salty?
In my experience it’s the fish sauce. Delia warns that some of the less authentic brands are far saltier than others, so it’s worth buying a good one. I’d add it a little at a time and taste before the full tablespoon goes in, which is my own habit.
Can I make the Thai stock the day before?
Yes, the flavoured stock can be made ahead. Delia says it can be prepared in advance, as long as everything else is added shortly before you serve.
I’d strain the infused stock, cool it and keep it in the fridge for a day or freeze it, my own advice. I find the finished soup doesn’t freeze well, as the peas and sugar snaps lose their crunch.
