ต้มข่าไก่ - aka Tom Kha Soup

Tom Kha soup is a creamy and flavorful Thai dish that is so tasty, I can't even begin to describe it. If you've never tried it, go to your favorite Thai restaurant and give it a shot! Then come home and try my recipe - slightly adjusted to meet my needy taste buds.

The one trick to making Tom Kha a success is to find the right ingredients. Uwajimaya is an amazing store in Beaverton, OR that carries a wide variety of products from all over Asia and they have everything you need to make Tom Kha. It's well worth the trip and don't forget to check out the candy aisle - where you can't read the labels and picking a package is sorta like playing Russian Roulette.

Anyhow this recipe is foolproof and it's only soup. You can always add or take away ingredients to make it to your liking. Have fun!

What you need: 

1 large chicken breast

32 oz chicken broth 

28 oz coconut milk

2 stalks lemongrass

1 small piece of Galangal root

1 small onion

Kaffir lime leaves (just a handful)

10 medium button mushrooms

1 red chili

2 stalks baby bok choy (optional)

2 T fish sauce

2 tsp sugar 

Juice of 1 lime

Your choice of rice or rice noodles

Topping options: Sriracha, basil, cilantro

What to do: 

1. Prepare the lemongrass and galangal root. 

With a potato peeler, peel off the outside skin from the galangal root, discard, then peel about 3 tablespoons worth of root. You can eyeball this and honestly, the more root the better the flavor.

With a mallet or the butt of a kitchen utensil, gently pound the lemongrass stalks - this will bring our the delicious flavors. Peel the outside layer off and using the bottom 6 inches of the stalk, slice into long pieces. 

2. In a large pot, add the chicken broth, galangal root and lemongrass. Let simmer on medium for about 15-20 minutes. The broth should start to become nice and fragrant. 

3. With a sharp knife, slice the chicken breast about 3mm thin and add to the chicken broth. The thinness will allow it to cook quickly in the hot chicken broth. 

4. Once the chicken is all white and you can no longer see pink, add the coconut milk. 

5. Do not chop the onion - instead slice it into strips and add it to the broth. Similar to the lemongrass, gently pound the kaffir lime leaves to bring out the flavor. Add the onions and lime leaves to the broth. 

6. Cut the mushrooms into quarters, slice up the chili (removing the seeds) and cut up the bok choy - add all to the broth. Add fish sauce, sugar and lime juice and let simmer for 15 minutes allowing all the flavors to combine and develop into an exotic, mouth watering soup. 

7. In a bowl top with basil and cilantro, add a little sriracha for some heat and enjoy! Eat alone or pour over rice or rice noodles. 

BOMB. 

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