I’m Addicted to Tom Kha Gai Soup
September 4th, 2007 Posted in Food and Beverage
If you have never enjoyed this wonderful Thai soup, you don’t know what you are missing. Tom Kha Gai is a hot sweet soup made with coconut milk, lemon grass and chicken. The name literally translates to “boiled galangal chicken.” The fried chillies add a smoky flavor as well as texture, color and heat, but not so much that it overwhelms the soup.
We are fortunate enough to have a great little Thai restaurant in Anthem where we work and live. Its called Dara Thai Cafe and if they had a web site, I’d link to it. I kid you not, we order the soup for lunch at least twice a week, sometimes even three times. When I call it in, they know me by name.
So what is in this magical soup? Here are the typical ingredients:
- Chicken (bite sized pieces)
- Mushrooms (preferably straw mushrooms)
- Shrimp (optional)
- Coconut milk
- Galangal (root)
- Lemon grass
- Kaffir lime leaves
- Coriander
- Sugar
- Lime juice
- Fish sauce
- Small crispy fried chillies
A good Thai restaurant will leave the galangal, lemon grass and lime leaves in the soup. However, you don’t want to consume these. Just set them aside although I like to suck on the root briefly.
I admit it… my name is David and I am a Tom Kha Gaiaholic. At least its a healthy addiction!
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