Spicy Thai Soup

I stumbled upon this recipe on the Thai Cooking channel on my Roku. I made 2 soups at the same time, this is for the soup on the left. The recipe calls for chicken, but I used potatoes instead of chicken. 

Ingredients: 

3 lemongrass stalks, bottom two-thirds of tender inner bulbs only, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (4 inch) piece fresh ginger root, chopped

4 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

7 baby red potatoes quartered

12 ounces fresh white mushrooms, quartered

2 teaspoons red curry paste

3 tablespoons fish sauce

1 lime, juiced

2 (14 ounce) cans coconut milk

1 red onion, sliced

1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

1 lime, cut into wedges, for serving

1 fresh jalapeno pepper, sliced into rings

Directions:

• Stir lemon grass, garlic, and ginger together in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Stir in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Strain chicken broth and set aside. Discard lemon grass, garlic, and ginger.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large soup pot over medium heat; Stir in chicken; cook and stir for 5 minutes.
• Stir in mushrooms and cook for 5 more minutes.
• Stir in red curry paste, fish sauce, and lime juice until combined. Stir in chicken broth and coconut milk; return to a simmer and cook on low for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Skim off any excess oil and fat that rises to the top and discard.
• Stir red onion into the chicken mixture; cook and stir until onion softens, about 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat and add about 1/2 the cilantro.
• Serve with plates of cilantro, lime wedges, and fresh sliced jalapenos.

This can easily be made vegan with the following substitutions: 

• potatoes for chicken
• vegetable broth for chicken broth
• soy sauce for fish sauce