A Taste of Heaven

Some foods are comfort foods because they remind us of our childhoods. They remind us of home.
Other foods are comforting because of what they are. I never tasted Tom Kha Gai when I was growing up. The first time I had the pleasure was at Malee's in Scottsdale, AZ, and every time I tasted it, my heart was made at peace, my stomach ecstatic, and I couldn't help but smile, resting in the comfort of the flavors that enveloped my senses. I craved the soup and I've spent the last 6 years trying to re-create the recipe, and the last 3 years trying to located some of the more elusive ingredients in Nashville.  I think that I might have finally struck gold!  (I swear there are some medicinal properties to this soup because it sure clears your sinuses!)

 Tom Kha Gai Soup Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 cups (24 fluid ounces) sodium-free chicken stock
• 1½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces across the grain
• ¾ lb fresh straw mushrooms (you can also use oyster mushrooms)
• Two stalks lemongrass (fresh)
•  3 chopped green onions
• 5-6 fresh bird’s eye chili
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp palm sugar
• 2-inch piece of fresh galanga root, sliced thinly crosswise (this TOTALLY makes the flavor of this dish.  If you can't get this locally, scour the internet, buy a pound, then freeze what you can't use now.  It's a floral flavor that you'll definitely recognize if you've had tom kha gai before, especially at Malee's)
• 4-5 fresh kaffir lime leaves
• 4-5 limes
• ¼ cup fish sauce
• ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1½ cups (12 fluid ounces) full-fat coconut milk
•  1 can baby corn, drained and chopped to 1/2" chunks (optional) (This is in Malee's)
• Red and green Thai bird chiles, sliced thinly as a garnish

Instructions

1. First, concentrate the stock. Put the chicken stock in a wide and shallow saucepan (to ensure fast evaporation), bring it to a boil, and reduce it over medium-high heat until the liquid measures half its original volume. 
2. Quarter the straw mushrooms into bite-sized pieces; set aside.
3. Cut the lemongrass stalks into 1-inch pieces and smash them with a heavy object, set aside.
4. Do what you just did to the lemongrass to the chilies; set aside.
5. Remove the stems and the tough veins that run through the middle from the kaffir lime leaves, and tear them up into small pieces. You can also bruise them a little to bring out the flavor. Set aside.
6. Juice 2 limes; set aside. (You may need more; you may not. It’s better to have more than you need than not enough.)
7. Put the coconut milk into a 4-quart pot, followed by concentrated chicken stock, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass pieces, garlic, palm sugar and galanga root slices.
8. Bring the mixture slowly to just below a simmer, allowing the herbs to infuse the liquid. (THE SECRET!)
9. Keeping the temperature steady, add the mushrooms and the chicken to the liquid; adjust the heat to maintain the temperature. The liquid should never at any point come to a rapid boil. Don’t worry; at 160°-180°F, your chicken will be thoroughly cooked in about 10 minutes.. (IMPORTANT)
10. Stir gently to ensure that the chicken is evenly cooked.
11. Once the chicken is cooked through, throw in the smashed chilies and baby corn and remove the pot from heat immediately.
12. Add the juice of 2 limes and the fish sauce to the pot, stir, and taste. Add more lime juice and fish sauce, if necessary. I added one additional lime.
13. Stir in the cilantro leaves and garnish with green onion and thai bird chiles
14. Serve your tom kha gai as soup or ladle over a bowl of steamed jasmine rice as an entree.

(You could make a raw version, or a vegan version by substituting tofu for the chicken)