Thanks again Lars!

10 years ago

I used the keffir lime leaves and galangal you sent me to make a pot of Tom Kha Gai. Here is the recipe I used. I loved the flavor! I would have liked more vegetables, however. Maybe some peppers, baby corn, carrots, what else would be good? Homemade curry paste is up next!

Tom Kha
Gai

from Paleo Takeout

Ingredients

4
cups Chicken
Broth
2
cups water
6
fresh or dried kaffir lime leaves,
roughly torn, or grated zest of 1 lime
2
stalks lemongrass, white
parts only, thinly sliced
2
inches galangal or ginger,
peeled and coarsely chopped
- 2
  boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb total), thinly sliced
1
(14 oz) can full-fat coconut
milk
6
oz mushrooms (straw, enoki, shiitake, oyster, or white; see note)
1
tbsp fish sauce
juice
of ½ lime (1 tbsp)
1
tsp coconut palm sugar or honey (optional)
sea
salt to taste (about 1 tsp)

TO
GARNISH:

large
handful of fresh cilantro, stems included, chopped
Thai
Chili

Instructions
Combine
the soup base ingredients in a stockpot and bring to a boil over high
heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer for 15 minutes to
allow the flavors to marry. Strain and discard the solids, returning the
broth to the stockpot.Add
the chicken to the broth and bring to a simmer over medium heat, then
reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until just cooked through, about
4 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk and mushrooms and simmer until the
mushrooms are tender, about 2 minutes, then add the fish sauce, lime
juice, and sugar. Taste and add salt and more fish sauce and lime juice if
desired.Serve
garnished with cilantro and Thai Chili Oil

Linda

Featured Answer

Lars

10 years ago

Glad you were able to use the leaves - they do make a big difference in flavor. The galangal may be more of an acquired taste, and ginger is a good substitute, if you want a more familiar flavor. However, I generally make the soup without coconut milk, which would have a mitigating effect on the galangal.

I think baby corn is a good addition to the soup and perhaps bell pepper, but I would not add carrots, as they are too tough, and I generally do not mix carrots and mushrooms together. You could add celery, however, thinly sliced. When I want more vegetables, I generally just add more mushrooms, and I keep a variety of dried mushrooms on hand. I also generally add dried wakame, and I always have a lot of that on hand as well, although I'm not sure how that would taste with the coconut milk. Another thing I add instead of coconut milk is sesame oil.

Does your recipe have chicken in it? The description says to add chicken, but it is not in the list of ingredients. I normally add a few dried cayenne chilies to my broth, which I remove with the galangal and lime leaves, or I use a minced Habanero chili that I leave in. My cayenne chilies dry themselves on the vine, and so I have a steady supply of them. I prefer the flavor of Habanero, however.

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Comments (18)

doucanoe
Original Author
10 years ago
Yes, it calls for 2 BS chicken breasts, listed just after the galangal.

Celery would be good, hadn't thought of that.

I'll keep experimenting!

Linda
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User
10 years ago
Love that soup! Second only to Lemongrass.

I've made it with a little Thai chile paste and with sliced serranos.

Lars, is it still Tom Kha Gai without coconut milk?
Lars
10 years ago
I see the chicken breasts now! Duh!

Cindy, I do not call the soup I make Tom Kha Gai - I call it a Tom Yum Soup, which has several variations.
mustangs81
10 years ago
Thanks for the tips and substitutions for making my favorite Thai soup.

Thai food is my favorite since working in LA years ago and going to Tommy Tang's restaurant.
CA Kate z9
10 years ago
If any one does have a recipe for the homemade curry paste would you please post it/them? Thanks!
PRO
Lars/J. Robert Scott
10 years ago
I have several recipes for homemade curry paste from the book Keo's Thai Cuisine, which I bought decades ago (some time in the 1980s), but I have not put them in my computer. I started making Thai curry paste so that I could omit the cinnamon (which I did not like in the paste), but more recently I have been about to find Thai curry paste in a small can or jar that does not have cinnamon in it, and so I just buy that instead of making my own. I'll try to type out a recipe that I use, but normally I just make it from the book.

I've been to Tommy Tang's restaurant on Melrose several time, although not recently, as there are very good Thai restaurants closer to me.

I need to replant lemon grass, as I no longer have it in my yard.
mustangs81
10 years ago
Lars, I'll have to see if I can find lemon grass to grow. Do you get yours at a nursery?
CA Kate z9
10 years ago
Lars, I sent this recipe to my daughter - who lives in Woodland Hills. She would like to know where you got the keffir lime leaves.
Lars
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
I got my lemon grass from my friend Bernard, and I'm not sure where he got it. I'll have to ask him, but I do think that certain nurseries have it. There is one in San Gabriel that specialized in Asian fruit trees, and they may also have it. If you find it fresh in a market, and it has roots, you can plant that, and I think this might have been what Bernard did. Check your local market to see if they fresh lemon grass with the roots still attached. It's very easy to grow.

I have a Kaffir lime tree, and that's where I get my leaves, but you can find them at Bangkok Market on Melrose, down the street from Paramount Studios in Hollywood. There are other markets in Thai Town, but I'm not that familiar with them. You can get the tree at San Gabriel Nursery, which I also think may have lemon grass. They do have galangal.
annie1992
10 years ago
Lars, you were very kind to share with Linda. I know none of those things (lemon grass, galangal or kefir lime) grow in Michigan, so I doubt they would grow for Linda in Minnesota either. That's a nice taste of warm for our colder climates!

Annie
mustangs81
10 years ago
Lars, thanks for the information. I will look for fresh with roots to plant. Seems like I have researched this before...gotta' have my Tom Kha Gai.
User
10 years ago
Cathy, you should be able to find lemongrass at any local nursery.
ci_lantro
10 years ago
You can get lemongrass plants off eBay. There are several listings on there now but you would need to wait until warm weather to order them. I have never grown it but, from what I have read, it is hardy only in Zone 9...Zone 8 with protection. But, supposedly, you can bring some starts in and over winter it indoors. Naturally, it is grows quite large so, if you're growing it in a pot outdoors, it needs to be a large one. You can also grow it from seed so you wouldn't have to wait til spring.
User
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
It does get big! I dug mine out after one year because it got so big. When I need lemongrass I buy it at Whole Foods.

Pic was taken on June 3. By the end of the summer it was huge! Lemongrass is behind the chard and Spanish tarragon.
CA Kate z9
10 years ago
Lars: thank you for the info. DD is 'on the hunt' now that she knows she can grow it herself.
CA Kate z9
10 years ago
doucanoe: DD made the soup you first posted - Tom Kha Gai - and thought it very good and a "keeper". Thanks for posting it.
agmss15
10 years ago
I have a fairly happy kaffir lime growing inside easily in Maine. And a pot of barely surviving miserable lemongrass.

Lemongrass is very very easy to grow from seed. BUT make sure you mark it wel if you direct sow. Desirable grass seedlings and undesirable grassy weed seedlings are indistinguishable for months. I did not weed a section of my herb garden for months. And the lemongrass seedlings would have benefited from thinning. I had 50 or more healthy very small seedlings last fall. Perhaps better to sow inside for that reason. Lol.

Thanks again Lars!

Lars

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doucanoe
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Thanks again Lars!

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doucanoeOriginal Author

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doucanoe
Original Author