Chao xa ga

(not quite) chao xa ga from Midnight Chicken by Ella Risbridger (Bloomsbury/PA)

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Nutrition Facts

Chao xa ga

Amount Per Serving

Calories 665 Calories from Fat 423

% Daily Value*

Fat 47g72%

Saturated Fat 39g244%

Cholesterol 255mg85%

Sodium 2411mg105%

Potassium 1561mg45%

Carbohydrates 124g41%

Fiber 6g25%

Sugar 12g13%

Protein 42g84%

Vitamin A 10452IU209%

Vitamin C 213mg258%

Calcium 421mg42%

Iron 14mg78%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Vietnamese chicken soup

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Servings:

Calories: 665kcal

Author: Ella Risbridger

Equipment

Saucepan
Scissors
Colander

Ingredients

400 ml coconut milk
200 ml chicken stock (or 1 chicken stock pot/cube dissolved in 200ml boiling water)
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp grated ginger (about 6cm)
1 tbsp grated garlic (about 4 cloves)
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp white pepper
2 lemongrass stalks (fresh is better, dried is fine)
2 limes
200 g kale
bunch of coriander
bunch of spring onions
2 red bird’s eye chillies
200 g jasmine rice
200 g cooked and peeled prawns

Method

Combine your coconut milk, chicken stock and fish sauce in a saucepan, and stir to dissolve any lumps. Add the ginger, garlic, sugar and pepper. Stir again. If using fresh lemongrass, chop it into the pan with scissors; if using dried, add the stalks whole. Bring the broth to a gentle simmer over the lowest possible heat while you zest and juice your limes. Reserve a pinch of lime zest, then add the rest to the broth, along with the juice. Inhale deeply. Feel better.
Tip the kale and coriander into a colander, and rinse them vigorously (both are horribly good at hiding grit). Use scissors to chop them as finely as you can manage, then set to one side.v
Rinse and slice the spring onions, then add most to the broth, reserving a few green shreds for garnish. Rinse, slice and de-seed the chillies, and do the same.
This should all take about 10 minutes, and by this time the house will smell beautiful and bright and green. Rinse the rice, then tip it directly into the broth. Cover the pan and cook for 18 minutes, stirring a couple of times to break up any clumps of rice.
Taste the soup. The rice should be soft and sticky, with broth bubbling all around and over it. Stir through the kale and coriander and cook for two minutes more. Finally, add the prawns and cook for another two minutes.
Decant into bowls: A mound of tender rice, studded with pink prawns and flecks of vivid green, with a moat of richly scented broth. Scatter with the reserved lime zest, loops of red chilli and hoops of green onion. Serve straight away.

Nutrition