Thai Chicken Coconut Milk Soup (Tom Kha Gai)

From the moment I first took a sip of this classic Thai soup at Manora Thai Restaurant in San Francisco, I was smitten. So rich, so creamy, so nuanced in flavor - a little spicy, a little sweet, a little sour, a whole lot of richness. But the flavor profile was so far outside my comfort zone, I never dreamed I could make it at home, especially not in 20 minutes with a short list of ingredients. I felt resigned to only eating it in restaurants.

But when an acquaintance kept talking about how she was going to whip up a batch for dinner for her family that night, after picking the kids up from swim class..... and then this recipe from a home cook turned up in Sunset Magazine's quick recipe pages - well, that demystified it quite a bit. I went for it. It was easy, it was fast, and it was delicious. All of these ingredients are available from a decently stocked grocery store. Don't be shy - you can do it, too!

Thai Chicken Coconut Soup (Thom kha gai or Gai Thom Kha)

adapted from Jiranooch Shapiro, Anchorage – Sunset Magazine, December 2008

1 can (14 ounces) coconut milk (Native Forest Organic is outstanding)

14 ounces chicken broth

6 quarter sized slices ginger

1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 lb. Boned, skinless chicken breasts or thighs

1 cup sliced mushrooms (preferably oyster mushrooms)

1 TB fresh lime juice

1TB Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp Thai Red Curry Paste (Thai Kitchen is a good brand)

2 fresh lime leaves (optional - I pick mine in the back yard, but a good Asian grocery will have them)

Fresh basil and/or cilantro leaves for garnish

In a medium saucepan, combine broth, ginger, lemongrass, and chicken. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then simmer until chicken is firm and opaque. Remove the chicken from the pan, and let it cool until you can easily cut it into 1” chunks. Using a slotted spoon or “spider” remove and discard the lemongrass, and optionally, the ginger, and discard them.

Add the coconut milk, chicken and mushrooms, along with the remaining seasonings to the chicken broth. Bring the mixture back up to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer until the mushrooms are cooked and flavors are melded. Test and adjust the seasonings. Serve, garnished with herbs.

Notes from Christine: while this is a lovely outline of the dish, I like to add a little bit more of each of the seasonings; please feel free to adjust this according to your taste preferences. For the mushrooms, I prefer oyster mushrooms, but other choices are delicious too – shiitake, crimini, button....

More notes: the recipe author leaves the lemongrass and ginger in the soup and serves it that way. Personally, I just got tired of fishing inedible bits out of every bite of soup and devised the filtering plan outlined above to eliminate the problem. However, leaving them in most likely imparts more flavor to the soup, and faithful reader "Miss Nati" has reported how much she likes eating the ginger. You be the judge!