Goodbye Dairy and Gluten: February 2023

Instant Pot Thai Coconut Lime Chicken Soup with Rice Noodles

3.5 lb. whole chicken (or you can use 2-3 Costco sized chicken breasts)
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, sliced in matchsticks
8 cloves garlic, smashed
1 medium onion, cut into quarters
2 small thai red chilis or jalapeno (I've only had it with a jalapeno - seeds removed)
1 handful cilantro stems
1 cup chicken broth or water
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

2 cans coconut milk *I used 1 full-fat and 1 lite
2 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 medium thai red chili, sliced or jalapeno (I've only had it with a jalapeno- seeds removed)
1 lime of juice
1 tsp sea salt

4 cups swiss chard or other leafy green like spinach or kale (I've only had it without this)
8 ounces noodles *see notes for options*

Remove the bag of giblets from inside the cavity of the chicken (if the chicken came with them). Wash the chicken well and dry with paper towels.
Add chicken to the insert of your instant pot, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cover with ginger, garlic, onion, chilis, cilantro stems, and chicken broth.
Carefully place the lid on instant pot and turn to locked position. Once the lid is locked turn the vent to the "sealing" position.
Select the manual setting to 25 minutes. After 25 minutes allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes, then turn the vent valve to "venting" and carefully allow the remainder of the pressure to release.
Carefully remove the chicken from the broth. It should be fall off the bone tender. Set aside.

Using a fine mesh sieve strain the broth over a large bowl. Return the broth to the instant pot. Add the broth ingredient list (coconut milk, grated ginger, chili, lime juice and sea salt.) Stir well to combine.
Replace the lid and lock in place. Turn the vent to "sealing" position. Press the manual button and set to 3 minutes.
While broth is getting all fragrant and perfect, shred your chicken and set aside.
Cook noodles according to package instructions (see notes on why I don't do this step in the instant pot)
After 3 minutes allow broth to natural release for a few minutes and then gently turn the vent valve to the "venting" position and carefully manually release the pressure.
Remove lid, add swiss chard to the hot broth and stir until gently wilted (about 1 or 2 minutes)

Ladle broth into bowls, add shredded chicken, noodles, fresh cilantro, sliced chilis (optional), and an additional squeeze of lime juice.

She make the noodles separately because she doesn't like soggy noodles
She used a Korean Noodle or angel hair pasta. I've had it with Taste of Thai Vermicelli Rice noodles Angel hair (gluten free, wheat free) she got it at Target, I got mine at Smiths
The blog has nutrition facts are for the whole chicken, as she mentioned in the instructions you will have quite a lot of chicken meat and may want to reserve half for another recipe or it works just fine using chicken breasts

Recipe Source

CHICKEN AND RICE STEW

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

5 carrots, sliced

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 teaspoon fine sea salt (leave out if broth is not low-sodium)

8 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger

¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (depending on spice preference)

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs

1 cup short-grain brown rice

3 cups packed fresh spinach (optional)

1 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Parmesan cheese (optional)

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onion, and salt and cook, stirring accasionally, until soft but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes and cook, stirring continuously, for 1 minute.
Add the broth, chicken, and rice and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender, 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot, place on a cutting board, and use two forks to shred it.
Return the chicken to the pot and stir in the spinach, parsley, and lemon juice. If too thick, thin with a little additional broth of water. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper flakes, if needed. Ladle into soup bowls and top with freshly grated Parmesan (if desired).
To make this dish in a slow cooker, simply combine the oil, car-rots, onion, salt, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, broth, chicken, and rice. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours. Just before serving, add the spinach, parsley, and lemon juice and more broth if too thick.

From a cookbook from Cecy Wheeler