Lemongrass Chicken Coconut Soup

My most recent creation: Lemongrass Chicken Coconut Soup. I've adapted the recipe from a Thai cooking class I took with Mark DesLauriers. I highly recommend his classes...it's a small group class, with tons of instruction and most importantly, good recipes.

Lemongrass Chicken Coconut Soup
4 c. coconut milk
1 c. chicken stock
1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, bruised and minced
2 inch piece of ginger, grated
2 shallots, chopped
1.5 lbs. chicken breast, cut into 1" cubes
.5 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsbp. palm sugar (substitute brown sugar if unavailable)
8 oz. cherry tomatoes, cut into bite sized pieces if large
8 oz. carrots
3 tbsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
cilantro to garnish

1. Put the coconut milk, chicken stock, lemongrass, ginger and shallots in saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil.

2. Add the chicken, shrimp, fish sauce, palm sugar, and carrots and simmer, stirring constantly for 5 min, or until the chicken and shrimp are cooked through.

3. Add the tomatoes, lime juice and crushed red pepper in the last few seconds, taking care not to let the tomatoes lose their shape.

4. Taste, then adjust seasoning if necessary, This dish is not meant to be overwhelmingly spicy but to have a sweet, salty, sour taste. Serve garnished with cilantro.