Tom Kha Thai Soup Recipe

This recipe for Thai soup comes from Virginia-based blogger, George at www.i-heart-food.com. Read on as he explains how to make this tasty dish:

Ingredients:

• 1 Can of Coconut Milk
• 1 Lemongrass, large stalk, trimmed
• 2 Thai Chilis
• 1 Tsp Sugar
• 1/4 Yellow Onion, minced
• 1 Package of mushrooms shiitake/oyster preferred, approximately 8 oz., chopped
• 2 Tbsp Galangal, slivered
• 1 Lime, large
• 3 Tbsp Fish Sauce
• 3 Cups of Chicken Stock
• Cilantro to Garnish
• Optional: Thai Chili Powder

Preparation:

• Important! Do not boil the coconut milk. If you boil the coconut milk at a high temperature, it will not remain emulsified and the fat will separate from the liquid. Just like what happens to butter when it is heated at high temperatures.
• You can use chicken or seafood (shrimp, mussels, squid, etc…) with this recipe. Eat what you like!
• Chop up everything you need to put in the soup. I like to cut my galangal up in small, thin slivers. I do this so it can stay in the soup and not be strained out. Most recipes will have you remove or strain the galangal after the first phase of their recipes, I like to keep it in the soup. Getting a little bite of the root, almost crunchy, almost nutty, is great. If you prefer not to have it in, just slice it in larger pieces then strain before you add your chicken or seafood.
• Trim the lemongrass taking off any rough or brown bits. In a lot of recipes you would only use the white, fleshy part of the lemongrass. The reason is because it it easier to eat, we’re not eating the lemongrass. It’s being steeped in the broth essentially. I’ll admit to finely cutting up some lemon grass and leaving it in the soup when the mood hits me.
• Crush the lemongrass, Kaffir lime leaves, and Thai chilis. Use your pestle, a muddler or back of a heavy spoon to open up them up to release flavor. Remove chili seeds if you don’t want it too hot.
• I do not remove all of the aromatics from the stock pot before I add the meat, but I do before I add the coconut milk.
• Chili powder can be added for more flavor, this is optional.

Directions:

1. Add the chicken stock, sugar, onion, Kaffir lime leaves, Thai chilis, lemongrass and galangal to a medium sized stock pot. Bring to a rolling boil for about 10 minutes.
2. Add mushrooms, continue to boil for about 8-10 minutes to cook mushrooms.
3. At this time if you wish to remove large pieces of aromatics (Kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, chili, galangal) do so after the mushrooms are done.
4. Add your chicken or seafood now, cook for about 10 minutes in the boiling broth. Remove any foam that might float to the top of the broth.
5. After the meat is cooked through, pour in the coconut milk, fish sauce and lime juice, lower heat to a light simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Serve with cilantro and lime wedges and maybe have a little more fish sauce on hand.

This is pretty easy to make and after a couple of tries it’ll be a breeze. We use leftover chicken sometimes, if we do it doesn’t need boiling as long. Just lower the heat to a simmer, cook for the same amount of time as you would the raw. Continue to follow the directions.

Enjoy!
Recipe provided by Virginia Beach Resident George, Eater-in-Chief at www.i-heart-food.com. George is on the board of directors for the local chapter of Buy Fresh Buy Local and regular on WHRO’s food blog Let’s Eat! He has contributed to several other local zines including AltDaily and Veer. He is also one of the regular writers for HR Growler, Hampton Roads’ first craft beer publication. He and his wife love to eat and drink and enjoy cooking together.