Recipes_eng

THAI CHICKEN AND COCONUT SOUP (TOM KHA GAI)

Here I am again, with my Thailand nostalgia 
 I am actually going there in a month time for Easter Holiday and honestly – I cannot wait! Sun, beach and Thai food…what can be better? Oh, and Thai New Year – Songkran – will take a place during my time there… 
Anyway, while I am still here in the good old cold UK, all I can do to cheer myself up is recreate the dishes, something I do on a weekly basis as we simply cannot survive for too long without a smell of lemongrass in the house…
The other week one of my friend asked me for the recipe of Thai Coconut Soup…I must admit, from all Thai soups this one is my favourite. I love it with prawns, with chicken, with veggies..you name it. Usually this soup is the first dish I order when back on Thai land, and this coming trip will not be an exception 

So, here we go – Tom Kha, or Thai Coconut soup. 

This delicious soup perfectly balances the sweetness of coconut milk and the fragrance of galangal, kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass, with the salty fish sauce and the sour taste of lime juice. 

I would advice finding galangal for this soup, but if it proves hard – ginger works quite well too. It will change the flavour of the soup a bit, but it still tastes very good.

If you are vegetarian, replace the fish sauce with tamari or just salt, although the version with fish sauce does tastes better.

You can make it with chicken, with prawns or with vegetables, it will be equally yummy! 


Thai Chicken and Coconut Soup (Tom Kha Gai)


Ingredients

  1. 500 ml Light chicken stock
  2. 4 Kaffir lime leaves (preferably fresh) torn in half
  3. 2 Lemongrass stalk, cut or crushed
  4. 10 Thin slices of galangal (can be replaced with ginger)
  5. 300 g Chicken breasts cut into small pieces
  6. 500 ml Coconut milk
  7. 50g (or about 10-12) Small button mushrooms
  8. 6-7 Cherry tomatoes cut in half
  9. 2 shallots, cut.
  10. Juice of a half lime, freshly squeezed
  11. 2-3 tbsp Fish sauce

Optional

  1. 2 tsp of palm sugar ( or any sugar)
  2. 3 Small fresh chillies or 5-6 dried chillies
  3. Fresh Coriander leaves or/and Spring onion to garnish.

Instructions

  1. Prepare all the ingredients.
  2. Cut the lemongrass or pound it until they it is cracked and open.
  3. Slice the shallots.
  4. Wash, peel and cut the galangal into small slices. If you use ginger - peel it and slice into small slices.
  5. Tear the lime leaves into halfs.
  6. Heat the chicken stock in the large pan, then add the lime leaves, lemongrass and galangal (ginger).
  7. Simmer for 10 minutes.
  8. At this point, if you wish, you may strain the soup through a sieve into another saucepan and discard all solid pieces.
  9. Add the chicken cut in small pieces and bring back to simmering.
  10. Add the mushrooms, tomatoes, shallots, lime juice, fish sauce and optionally sugar and keep simmering for about 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
  11. Add chillies to the soup and serve immediately.
  12. Garnish with fresh coriander and spring onion.

Notes

  1. You can replace chicken with raw prawns , seafood mix, or vegetables.
  2. If you use prawns or any seafood - use fish stock instead of chicken stock.
  3. For vegetarian version - use vegetable stock.
  4. You may try without adding sugar but if you feel it's not sweet enough - add a little palm or coconut sugar to your taste.
Main dish