Faux Pho

An apparent impending sore throat convinced me that some chicken soup was in order this evening.  Typically in my case that means Chinese Hot and Sour Soup, but tonight I had a boat load of basil, bean sprouts and rice noodles left over from the fresh Thai spring rolls I made on Saturday evening, so I decided to make something along the lines of Pho.  Having neither recipe nor clue, I just decided to fake it.

So, I sauteed some carrots, celery, green onion, chopped lemon grass, grated ginger, diced chicken thighs and about four of those litte green Thai chilies (the really HOT little bastards,) in a little oil with a splash of sesame oil.  Added a bunch of chicken stock, a little each of fish and soy sauce, rice noodles, bean sprouts and basil.  At the last minute I threw in a few leftover frozen shrimp.   Garnished with chopped cilantro, more green onions, bean sprouts and (in my case) some extra Thai chilies soaked in fish sauce.

I may have slightly overdone the Thai chilies; about blew the top of my head off.  But overall, it was pretty delicious.  We'll see if it cures the sore throat.