Chicken in Coconut Soup With Galangal (Tom kha gai)

Photo: Thai Kitchen

Tom kha gai (Thai: ต้มข่าไก่, IPA: [tôm kʰà: kàj]), literally translates to boiled galangal chicken. It is a spicy hot sweet soup in Thai Cuisine made with coconut milk, lemon grass and chicken. The fried chillies add a smoky flavor as well as texture, color and heat, but not so much that it overwhelms the soup. The key is to get a taste balance between the spices. There are other versions made with seafood (tom kha talay), mushroom (tom kha het), and tofu (tom kha tofu). All follow a similar recipe.

Ingredients

* coconut milk. 1 can, 400ml14fl oz/1 2/3 cup
* galangal (ข่า, pronounced kha), 2cm 3/4in pieces, size of US quarter, of galangal or galanga, peeled and finely sliced. I found galanga at the Chinese grocery store.
* lemon grass, 2 stems, lower part, 1/2in slices
* kaffir lime leaves, 2 leaves, torn in pieces or crunched to release the flavor, option is to use young lemon leaves
* coriander (cilantro) leaves for garnish
* lime juice, 2 tbsp lemon juice, or 1 lemon
* fish sauce, 4 tbsp
* sugar, 1 tbsp sugar
* small crispy fried chillies, or not fried, 2-7 (mild to medium) small Thai chillies, seeded and sliced
* mushrooms, preferably a can of straw mushrooms, drained
* chicken (ไก่) 1/2 to 1 chicken breast(about 175g/6oz) cut into silvers, bite sized pieces
* 570ml/1pint/generous 2 cups chicken stock, or 1 can of chicken broth

Vegetarian Ingredient Options

* Exchange chicken broth with 1 can of Vegetarian broth

Preparations


1. Pour the coconut milk into a sauce pan, stirring over a gentle heat to make sure that the milk is smooth. Stir in one direction only to prevent the milk curding.
2. Heat the prepared stock in a much larger saucepan, adding galanga, chillies, lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves.
3. Stir in the warmed coconut milk.
4. Add the fish sauce, sugar, and lime juice (or the juice of 1 lemon).
5. Allow to come to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, taste and adjust the seasoning.
6. Bring back to a boil, drop in the chicken pieces a few at a time so that they remain separate.
7. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the chicken pieces are cooked.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57Az10vFzII&feature=related