Ga Ga for Tom Kha Gai - Chicken and Coconut Milk Soup Soup

Tom Kha, one of my husband's long running specialties and a favorite disguise for his demure but deadly chili peppers, has long been one of my all time favorites. His generous addition of miniature firecrackers from our garden, tiny chilis meant to humble even the most boastful of our by now, well-prepared friends and family, has become a meal of worship converting even the most ethnically inexperienced among them. Amazingly enough, my Dad's deadly allergy to all things coconut magically disappeared as he devoured two heaping bowls right in front of my eyes. While he can't be fooled by my sister's cauliflower mashed potatoes (or he was until he was told it was cauliflower), he doesn't give one whit that the "deadly" coconut takes the place of honor in this masterpiece.

Luscious is about the only way I can describe it. It also has the four elements of good cooking: sweet, sour, savory and spicy. But it has something else to it's credit, it's creamy-dreamy. I've long been a fan of coconut milk since it's the base of most Thai curries. Here, however, it takes center stage and turns an ordinary chicken soup into a soup fit for, well, Dads. In addition to this sometimes risky feat, it can be made with ordinary canned chicken or vegetable broth. That's right, you heard me. I've saved the best for last because it truly is one of the quickest soups to make, even if you choose to make your broth from scratch. Hubby can reproduce this soup in a matter of minutes, literally, and it only gets better as the flavors have time to meld. More than a few rough days have been spirited away with this wonderfully soothing soup and it is worthy of a place of honor in your soup repertoire.

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 10 kaffir lime leaves, shredded or whole
• 1 lemon grass stalk, sliced lengthwise and cut in 3-4" pieces
• 2 chunks of galangal (roughly the size of a golfball), sliced thinly
• 8 tablespoons fish sauce
• 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 lb chicken breast cut into strips or bite sized pieces
• 2 14 oz. cans of coconut milk, recommended brand
• 2 12 oz cans of large straw mushroom, drained
• Small red dry Thai chili peppers, slightly crushed (to taste)

Garnish

• Cilantro leaves, chopped

1. Make coconut soup base. In a stockpot, heat the chicken broth on medium high heat. Add the lime leaves, lemon grass, galangal, fish sauce, and lime juice. Stir thoroughly, bring to a boil and add the chicken and coconut milk. Bring back to the boil, then immediately lower the heat to keep it simmering and cook for about 2 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Add the drained mushrooms to the soup just before serving. They are already cooked so only need to heat through. If you don't like 'em, leave 'em out.
   
2. Garnish. Garnish with cilantro and chilis, to taste. I love dried chilis in this recipe because they rehydrate and absorb so much coconut flavor that they really are lovely little zingers if allowed time to mellow with the soup.
   
3. Serve. We serve this soup bowled-up over jasmine rice but it can also be served family style at the table, allowing for each guest to serve him or herself rice, if they choose. An alternative to serving with rice would be to serve it with your favorite noodles instead.

***Note: Dried galangal is a great substitute for fresh but chances are good finding either could be a challenge and if you find one, you'll tend to find both. Dried galangal is an excellent staple to have on hand for when you need it and I quite like the more subtle flavor, which is a cross between a lovely, delicate ginger and citrus flowers. I believe it to be the real workhorse of the spices we use for this soup and together, with the lime leaves, brings a flavor combination that is hard to beat. It stores in an airtight container almost indefinitely and you can order it online.

One more thing, if you have leftover soup base, it makes an excellent curry sauce the following night. It's almost a given in my house that when we have hubby's Tom Kha, the following night will see heaping hot bowls laden with a luscious chicken or seafood curry and if I'm not in the mood to eat curry the next night, I will at least spend the 10 minutes to make the curry sauce and freeze it for later. Half the time, though, Tom Kha never makes it to Round 2...