Tom Kha Gai Inspired Soup - Recipe

Since I have a citrus allergy I had to eliminate any lime/lemon from this recipe, and I omitted any hard to find ingredients (such a kaffir leaves, Thai peppers, and lemongrass). You can use fresh or canned mushrooms for this, any variety will do. If you want your soup spicier add more of the chili paste to it, my version is more on the mild side (if you're sensitive to spice I recommend using a lot less than what I did). If I was making this soup for a group of people I would probably slice some lime wedges on the side, and serve with steamed white rice.

4 Cups (32 oz) - Low Sodium Chicken Stock
4 Cups (32 oz) - Unsweetened Coconut Milk, canned
1 lb - Boneless Skinless Chicken, 1-inch cubed
2 Cups (15 oz can) - Mushrooms, sliced
1 branch - fresh Ginger Root, peeled
1/4 Cup - fresh Cilantro, chopped
2 Leaves - fresh Basil, whole
1-2 Tbsp - fresh Scallions, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp - Pad Thai Sauce
2 Tsp - Thai Chili Paste (or similar)

1 Pinch - Sugar (or substitute)
1 Pinch - Chinese Five Spice powder

Add chicken broth, cilantro, basil, scallions, and ginger to a pot and bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Except for the coconut milk add in the rest of the ingredients and simmer 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked (no pink in center). Add in coconut milk, raise heat and bring to a boil again. Remove from heat once boiling, remove ginger branch, and allow to cool a bit before serving.