Do you ever have a taste of somethin’ new & delicious and just know that it’s going to make its way into your own kitchen at a point in the very near future?!
That’s what happened with this new-to-me spicy chili paste called sambal, which I tried just a few short days ago…
Have you ever had this stuff before?
If not, I highly suggest you try it. Seriously.
If the smell of fresh sweet yet spicy chilis isn’t enough to entice you, then I can almost guarantee that the spicy sweetness that this chili paste delivers in the taste department sure will.
I can’t get enough of this stuff. But really.
Especially when used to top this sweet coconut chicken and rice soup.
Ridiculous.
Fresh mint and green onion too.
I can’t even explain how much fabulous flavor that these lend to the sweet hearty coconut soup. I love incorporating herbs into dishes like this!
This soup comes together so easily, and delivers so many different flavors that just make it irresistable in my opinion!
So let’s do this, shall we? 
Fresh garlic. Chopped.
Added to a hot soup pot with a bit of coconut oil (or any oil), until fragrant.
Shredded chicken. Which I simply boiled in a few cups of water, shredded and seasoned with sea salt & black pepper.
Reserved chicken cooking liquid. Which when combined with homemade (or store bought) chicken stock, creates the soup broth.
Coconut milk. Not sure how full fat would work here, but the light version was the perfect level of richness for this soup.
Jasmine Rice. So fragrant!
Into the pot we go. Cooked until fluffy & soft.
Finished with a handful of fresh green onion and additional salt and pepper, as needed.
Something about chicken and rice is just so warm & comforting now isn’t it?
And here, somehow the traditional becomes exotic and tropical with the addition of unconventional flavors like coconut and mint…
To serve – now this is the important part! – top with additional fresh green onion, fresh mint and spicy Sambal.
And stir it up! The heat from the soup brings out the flavor of the mint and onion too, so serve this sucker h-o-t 
These toppings are what really bring this soup to a whole ‘notha level my friends.
Fresh mint, sweet coconut, spicy chili and tangy green onion. Ooooo oooo ooooo was this good!!!
And probably my favorite recipe of 2012 thus far…. even though it’s only the 8th day of the month yea yea yea 
But seriously, if you’re feeling like something different in the kitchen then I would totally recommend trying this soup. Exotic flavors with ingredients that you can find at pretty much any grocery store too. How’s that for easy n’ flavorful?
And yea, sambal. Put it on the “must try” list for the new year. Trust me, you’ll be glad ya did!!
Have you ever had Sambal before?
P.S. You can find sambal at any Asian market and I even spotted it at our local World Market.
Coconut Chicken n’ Rice Soup w/ Fresh Mint & Spicy Sambal Serves 5-6 ** I used the reserved chicken cooking liquid because I didn’t have enough chicken broth on hand (improvise!). If you’d rather use a full 7 cups of chicken broth (store bought or homemade) then that would work very well too. 1. Boil chicken breasts in enough water to cover (about 5-6 cups) with a bit of salt and pepper. About 10-15 minutes until done. Remove from cooking liquid and shred. Reserve cooking liquid.** 2. Add oil to pot over medium heat, add garlic for about a minute until fragrant. Add cooked chicken for another minute. Then add chicken broth / reserved cooking liquid and bring to a boil. 3. Turn down to a simmer and stir in coconut milk. Once at a steady simmer again, add in rice, stirring thoroughly. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until rice is done. 4. Add in sliced green onion and cook for another minute or two. 5. Serve. With additional green onion, fresh mint and spicy chili paste (Sambal)! Don’t forget this part
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