Easy Weeknight Tom Kah Gai – Chicken & Coconut Soup

July 25, 2009 Kid-Friendly, Poultry, Recipes, Vegetables Comments Off

This is an easy chicken version of my mom’s more traditional seafood coconut soup. This can be made in about 30-40 minutes for a healthy weeknight dinner. Traditionally Thai coconut soup is made with galangal root, kaffir kaffir lime leaves, and lemon grass, none of which can be purchased within a 20-minute drive from my house.

On weekends when I feel like driving to get what’s needed for the real deal, I’ll trek to the closest Asian market to procure the goods. For most nights, this suffices when I’m craving a comforting chicken soup.

You can serve this as a starter to a full meal, but I prefer to add 1/2 cup of cooked buckwheat soba noodles to each bowl, which gives it a bit more substance as a meal in itself.

In my opinion, the jury is still out on whether to use chicken stock, broth, or a combination of both. I like the richness that stock adds, but I find it’s a bit too heavy for such a light soup. My recipe indicates broth, but I like it with a little stock added in.

Oh, my boys, who are decidedly against most soups, totally dig this stuff!

Ingredients
3 cups chicken broth
2 (14 ounce) cans coconut milk
Juice of 2 limes, plus 1/2 lime cut into wedges
4 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1/4 teaspoon chili sauce (I use Sambal Oelek, but Sriracha is fine)
1 teaspoon raw (turbinado) sugar
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thin, 2-inch-long strips
1/4 cup freshly sliced scallions
2 roma tomatoes, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro, divided evenly
1 package buckwheat soba noodles, boiled, drained, and rinsed in cold water (optional)

Method
Combine the chicken broth, coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce, chili sauce, ginger, and lime wedges into a sauce pan and warm over a medium-low flame. Let it simmer, but don’t let it boil. This will be the broth for the soup, so starting it first is ideal to develop the flavors. I like to simmer it about 15 minutes ahead of adding the chicken.

Sautee the chicken breast strips in a nonstick pan for 3-4 minutes, or until the flesh turns white and opaque. Don’t cook it for too long, or it will be rubbery and dry. Alternatively, in a regular skillet with 1-2 teaspoons oil, as needed. Drain any excess liquid and add the chicken to the broth. Let simmer about 5 minutes and then add the sugar, and stir to dissolve. Remove the lime wedges.

Add half of the cilantro, tomatoes, and scallions and cook for 3-4 minutes longer, and then remove from heat. Serve in individual bowls over soba noodles, or alone, sprinkled with a little of the remaining cilantro.

4-6 servings

Mom’s Recipe
Here’s my mom’s version with a shrimp and vegetable broth and shrimp meat instead of chicken. I think hers is more similar to tom kha talay.

Ingredients
1 pound raw shrimp, peeled, with the peels reserved
4 quarts water
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped roma tomatoes
1 (15oz) can coconut milk
6 kaffir lime leaves
1 piece dried galangal root (1 inch by 2 inches) broken into 3-4 parts
2-inch square piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
4 dried red whole chili pods
flaked red chili to taste
10 medium-sized mushrooms, washed and quartered
1 bunch green onions, washed, trimmed, and coarsely chopped
2 roma tomatoes, washed, cored, and coarsely chopped
Juice of 3 limes
6-8 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

Method
Put the shrimp shells, water, onions, and tomatoes into a stock pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the broth and return it to the bot. Discard the shrimp shells, onions, and tomatoes.

Bring the broth back to a simmer and add the coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, galanga, ginger, chili, and salt. Allow this to simmer for another 30 minutes.

Add the raw, peeled shrimp, mushrooms, tomatoes, and green onions and simmer for 10 minutes.

Just before serving, add the lime juice and cilantro.