Tom Gha Kai

 

Ok, white soup, my love for hungry tummies and palate heaven. I love you, Tom Gha Kai. 

Forever.

And ever.

Alright, enough food  poetry.  More about the dish itself. Love!

The soup itself is broth, with coconut milk. And galangal. And lime leaves. And chili, lemongrass, and lots more. It’s delicious. Sweet and sour. Hot and delicate. It’s a must make for anyone ( in my humble opinion).   Bad day, hangovers, colds, this soup works like a charm. So don’t be afraid to try it, it’ll love you back too! ( I swear this soup loves me back too :) ).

Type of dish: soup

Cost: medium

Difficulty: easy

Time: 25min

Serves: 3-4

Preparation time: 10min

Cooking Time: 15 min

What you need to make this dish:

Cutting board, sharp knife, wooden spoon, medium saucepan, ladle

Ingredients:

• 1 lime

• 2 kaffir lime leaves

• 1 cube of stock ( veggie or chicken)

• 1 l of water

• 1 tbsp. fish sauce

• 1/2 stick of lemongrass ( only bottom white part)

• 1 tbsp. sliced chili

• 1 can coconut milk

• 6 slices galangal

• 1 tbsp. palm sugar

• 5-7 small mushrooms, cut in 4

• Half a small carrot, julienned

• 1/4 ball pepper, julienned

• Fresh coriander, chopped

How to prepare:

Take the lemongrass and cut discard the green woody part. With the side of your knife, pound the white part of the lemongrass so it becomes more fragrant.  Cut into thin slices. Heat the water with stock cube in saucepan, wait till it boils.  Add the galangal, lemongrass, lime leaves and sugar to the pot. Let it simmer for 5 min. then add the chili, coconut milk, carrots and fish sauce. Let it simmer for another 5 min. Now add the mushrooms and bell pepper. Let it simmer for 3 min and turn the heat off. Add 2 squeezes of lime juice and sprinkle some coriander before serving. And now you can serve. if it's not sdalty enough, add another tsp. of fish sauce. Or add some more sugar.

Additional information:

You can make this soup with chicken breast instead of mushrooms. Just cut the chicken into thin small slices and cook in the last step, like you would with the mushrooms. When the chicken is turning white on the outside, it’s almost done.

Another thing about the products- they cost more than regular stuff, but you can buy a small jar of dried kaffir leaves and keep them in the fridge. I buy also more chili and lemongrass and after cutting it, I freeze it in small ziplock bags. Palm sugar comes in a small jar that you have to scrape the sugar out, but it lasts for long. And if you don't have any kaffir leaves, just use the peel from a lime. Or, if you're lucky and have a small lemon tree, use lemon leaves instead. Use the lime juice at the end, because it quickly looses it's taste while cooking, so add it last. And don't use ginger instead of galangal! it's a totaly different taste!