Thai Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai)

prep time:: 15 min
total time:: 45 min

Serves 6 to 8 as an appetizer or 4 as a main course

Have you ever had a really perfect bowl of Tom Kha Gai soup at a Thai restaurant? It has the perfect blend of hot, sour, salty and sweet that makes Thai food so good, a balance which is called “yum” in Thai, appropriately enough. Served alongside fresh spring rolls, this is beautiful and delicious party food that is just filling enough for a full meal.

ingredients

Soup:

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
3 stalks lemon grass, bottom 5 inches only, thick outer layers removed, trimmed and sliced thin
3 large shallots, chopped coarse
3 tablespoons fish sauce
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 (14-ounce) cans full fat coconut milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 pound white mushrooms, wiped clean, trimmed and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts), halved lengthwise and sliced on the bias into 1/8-inch-thick pieces
3 tablespoons lime juice from 2 limes
2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste

Garnish:

1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
2 fresh Thai, serrano, or jalapeño chilies, seeds and ribs removed, chilies sliced thin
2 scallions, sliced thin on the bias
1 lime, cut into wedges (for serving)

directions

1
1) Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until just shimmering. Add the lemon grass, shallots, chopped cilantro sprigs and 1 tablespoon of the fish sauce and cook, stirring frequently, until just softened, but not browned, 2 to 5 minutes.
2
2) Stir in the chicken broth and 1 can of the coconut milk and bring to a simmer over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. Pour the broth through a fine-mesh strainer, discarding the solids in the strainer.
3
3) Return the strained soup to a clean saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Stir in the remaining can of coconut milk and the sugar and bring to a simmer.
4
4) Reduce the heat to medium, add the mushrooms and cook until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, stirring constantly until no longer pink, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat.
5
5) Whisk the lime juice, curry paste and remaining 2 tablespoons fish sauce together, then stir into the soup. Ladle the soup into individual bowls and garnish with the cilantro leaves, chilies and scallions. Serve with the lime wedges.

notes

At the end of step 2, the broth can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 day. Only make this soup when you can find fresh lemon grass. Frozen or dried lack the depth of flavor necessary to bring this dish to life.

Source: Cook's Illustrated