Tom Kha Gai, Thai Chicken Coconut Soup Recipe

One of the most famous and beloved Thai recipes is the Thai chicken coconut soup – Tom Kha Gai. Tom Kha Gai means Soup (Tom) – Galangal/Galingale (Kha) – Chicken (Gai). Even if some famous cooks maintaining the contrary, galangal can not be replaced by ginger ! The taste is totally different ! To prepare a tasty stock for “Tom Kha Gai”, You´ll need a bit of time, don´t be in a hurry. In Thailand soups like Tom Kha Gai or Tom Yum aren´t served as a starter, they are always part of the main course and are eaten with fragrant Thai rice. To achieve a perfect result, use fresh lemongras, galingale and Kaffir lime leaves, which You can buy in Asia shops and Asia markets around the world.

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Picture: Tom Kha Gai, Thai Chicken Coconut Soup

Recipe: Thai Coconut Chicken Soup – Tom Kha Ghai
Ingredients:
750 ml water
500 ml coconut milk
250 g chicken breast
3-4 kaffir lemon leaves
3 stems lemongrass
5-10 slices galangal
1 coriander root
2 spring onions (the white part on the bottom)
5-10 Thai Chili “Prik Kee Noo”
250 g straw mushrooms
(fresh champignons as replacement)
1-2 EL palm sugar
salt or fish sauce
juice of 3-5 limes
coriander (cilantro) leaves and spring onions to garnish

Preparation:
Put lemongras (smash it with the flat side of a knife or a pestel), slices of galanga/galingal, kaffir limeleaves, coriander root (smashed) and spring onions in a pot with cold water and simmer it for about 1,5 to 2 hours. Add coconut milk, chilis (smashed) and chickenbreast in stripes o cubes and cook it until done. Add straw mushrooms, cuted in half and let it boil for another 5-10 minutes. Season with palm sugar, salt or fishsauce and limejuice. Garnish with coriander leaves and spring onions and serve with Thai rice.

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