Ok, you asked for it...well at least two people did! Tie up the dogs and open a bottle of cold beer (dogs for the mistakes and beer to make you not mind cleaning the mess) because we are cooking today!
It is Winter in many parts of the world and cold. So this is a nice spicy (not killer, don’t worry) soup that will warm you up!
It is Winter in many parts of the world and cold. So this is a nice spicy (not killer, don’t worry) soup that will warm you up!
It is my one of my favorite Thai soups called “Tom Ka Gai”. Gai means chicken but the rest I have no idea...one of these days I will speak better Thai...I surely can’t speak worse.
OK, unlike my last recipes, this will be more serious because I don’t want to be deported for reasons of stupidity!
There are about nine ingredients and some you may not be familiar with but you can get them at almost any supermarket or an Asian grocery if there is one by you.
2 or 3 stalks of lemon grass. Take a hammer (really) and smash them up so you can smell the lemon pretty good (Also is known to be a mosquito repellent).
About two or three inches of galagal which is a medicine smelling ginger. Cut them in inch pieces. They are hard so use a sharp butcher knife or small machete.
Four or five few kaffir lime leafs which are cool because each leaf looks like two stuck together at the end.
There are about nine ingredients and some you may not be familiar with but you can get them at almost any supermarket or an Asian grocery if there is one by you.
2 or 3 stalks of lemon grass. Take a hammer (really) and smash them up so you can smell the lemon pretty good (Also is known to be a mosquito repellent).
About two or three inches of galagal which is a medicine smelling ginger. Cut them in inch pieces. They are hard so use a sharp butcher knife or small machete.
Four or five few kaffir lime leafs which are cool because each leaf looks like two stuck together at the end.
A couple of green limes (if you can't find the kaffir lime leafs just squeeze the juice of one of the limes in the pot and then the skin also).
One or two or three or four Thai red chili peppers.
A can of straw mushrooms. I guess you could or should use fresh, but I am a bit leery of mushrooms so I do the can for this one.
A handful of fresh Cilentro.
About a cup or cup and a half of coconut milk - DO NOT USE THE SWEETENED
Fish sauce to taste. I love that expression...to taste... Whose taste? Just a splash or two. I guess one tablespoon should be plenty.
OK, ready? I always prep the ingredients prior to cooking because I have been known to have one beer too many and when using sharp knives that is not generally a good idea!
Put the chicken, one or two of the chilies, the galagal and lemon grass in a soup pot. Bring to a slow boil. This soup is one of love and so let it boil for an hour or so. It will start to look “dirty” as some of the lemon grass may break up a bit, but that is no problem.
After about an hour taste the liquid and it should taste not too bad, but not as good as mom’s chicken broth either. Kind of a flat taste at this point. Now is when I usually take out thelemon grass but as they say in Thailand, “up to you”.
You may want to add water once in awhile if it gets too low. Add the kaffir leaves or the lime skin and keep boiling slowly for about another hour.
Now the soup should have a nice limey medicine taste to it, but not over powering. You can take out the galagal at this point or leave it in...just tell whoever is serving, not to put it in the bowl.
Add the mushrooms and the coconut milk. Let it boil a while longer but stir it once in awhile because that is what everybody else does. You can also add the other chilis as well.
OK, turn off the heat and add the juice of the limes, again using your tongue to let you know how much, and also add the fish sauce.
Use the cilentro as a garnish and you are ready to eat!
I hope you enjoy this but if you don’t, let it cool and give it to the dog.
I hope you enjoy this but if you don’t, let it cool and give it to the dog.
No comments:
Post a Comment