Coconut-Lemongrass Chicken Thukpa (Nepali × Thai)

Method

1. Put the rice noodles in a bowl, cover with hot tap water and soak for 20 min, until pliable but still firm in the centre. Meanwhile cut the chicken into thin 1 x 4 cm strips, thinly slice the onion, finely chop the garlic and ginger and slice the mushrooms. Trim the lemongrass, bash it with the back of a knife and cut into 5 cm lengths; tear the lime leaves, removing the centre rib; halve the bok choy lengthways.

   Add in this stepWide rice noodles (dried) 120 g

2. Heat the oil in a 20 cm pot over medium heat and cook the onion for 4 min until soft. Add the garlic, ginger, lemongrass, whole chillies (pricked with a knife), cumin, turmeric and crushed timur and stir for 1 minute until fragrant. This Nepali spice base is what keeps it a thukpa.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil 1 tbspOnion 1Garlic cloves 3Fresh ginger 10 gLemongrass stalks 1Bird's eye chillies 1Ground cumin ½ tspGround turmeric ½ tspTimur (or Sichuan pepper) ½ tsp

   medium heat

3. Turn the heat up to medium-high heat, add the chicken and stir for 3 min until it is no longer pink on the outside.

   Add in this stepBoneless chicken thighs 240 g

   medium-high heat

4. Pour in the stock and coconut milk, add the lime leaves, fish sauce and sugar, bring just to the boil over medium-high heat, then turn down to medium-low heat and simmer for 12 min. Don't let it boil hard or the coconut milk can split. Cut open a thick strip of chicken: there should be no pink inside.

   Add in this stepChicken stock 600 mlCoconut milk 300 mlMakrut lime leaves 3Fish sauce 2 tspPalm sugar (or brown sugar) 1 tsp

   medium-high heat→medium-low heat

5. Add the mushrooms and bok choy and simmer for 3 min, until the bok choy stems are just tender.

   Add in this stepButton mushrooms 80 gBok choy 120 g

6. Drain the soaked noodles and plunge them into a 18 cm pot of boiling water over high heat for 1 min, until soft and slippery, then drain well.

   high heat

7. Squeeze a little of the lime into the soup, taste and add a dash more fish sauce if needed. Divide the noodles between bowls and ladle the soup over (leave the lemongrass and lime leaves in the pot; they are not for eating). Top with coriander and spring onions and serve the rest of the lime in wedges.

   Add in this stepLime ½Fresh coriander 5 gSpring onions 1