You know those days?
You know those days.
The air is thick…not so much with heat, but with fog.
They are insular days….make soup days.
I have lemongrass and limes growing
I ALWAYS have coconut oil and milk
and happen to have locally harvested mushrooms and ginger.
Put it all together…In a bowl, preferably that says “this bowl fights hunger”.
A local soup-kitchen fundraiser.
…and we get none other than a warm you to the core
Tom Kha Gai
:: Thai chicken soup for a foggy day ::
and while I didn’t have galangal, the traditional root used in this dish…ginger warmed it beautifully.
and instead of the requisite kefir lime leaves….I used the zest of the limes. Everybody was happy.
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 1 stalk lemon grass (pound the white ends to release the flavor)
- 2 teaspoons or more of red curry paste (found in asian section…most grocers carry it)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce (found in same section)
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar (brown or honey will do fine)
- 3 (13.5 ounce) cans coconut milk
- 1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1 pound chicken breast sliced thin
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice and zest of 1 lime
- salt to taste
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Directions:
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. sauté the chicken pieces till done, add the ginger, lemongrass, and curry paste and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Stop and :: inhale :: the aroma. Slowly pour the chicken broth over the mixture, stirring continually. Stir in the fish sauce and coconut sugar; simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk and mushrooms; cook and stir until the mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and zest; season with salt; garnish with cilantro. We love it served on brown rice.
Dare the fog to hang around…
