Recipe - Thai Chicken And Coconut Milk Soup (Tom Ka Gai Or Kai Tom Ga

1 cn (12ounce) coconut milk,
such as Chaokoh
One fourth pound Chicken breast, cut into
small chunks
1 Lime, juice and grated peel
of
1 Piece (4") of lemon grass,
cut into very thin (1/16")
slices on the diagonal
3 sl Galanga (fresh ginger may be
substituted) (up to 4)
Hot chile peppers to taste,
preferably Thai birds, with
serranos an acceptable
substitute (though I've
used sweet Fresno chiles in
a variation I'll describe
below), cut into thin
circles
Cilantro for garnish

Pour the lime juice on the chicken and let stand while you prepare the rest
of the soup. In a medium saucepan, place the coconut milk, lemon grass,
grated lime peel, galanga or ginger, and (optionally) chiles. (The optional
part is that if you don't want the whole dish to taste spicy, add the
chiles later; the earlier you add them, the hotter the resulting dish.)
Bring the coconut milk to a simmer.

When the soup is simmering, add the limesoaked chicken pieces and stir to
distribute them. Reduce the heat so the soup stays just below a boil and
cook for 12 to 15 minutes, or till the chicken pieces are finished cooking.
Remove from heat and serve immediately with fresh cilantro leaves for
garnish.

Now, the *best* way I ever had this soup was with pieces of fresh grouper
instead of chicken. I also added slices of kumquats instead of the ginger,
and used the sweet Fresno chiles instead of Thai birds. We also served it
over Vietnamese rice noodles. Was it southeast Asian or Caribbean? Who
cares, it was wonderful. If you can't find grouper, it'd be good with any
tender, delicate white fish sole, maybe, or a very fresh sea bass, or
maybe little chunks of monkfish. I believe I've had this with shrimp as
well. (Grouper, BTW, is a type of fish common in the Caribbean and, if I
recall, in other warmwater parts of the world; the flesh is very white,
very tender, and quite delicately flavored. I've seen it in one Asian
grocery store in the Bay Area, as well as in the Bahamas, so I'd guess that
Gulf Coast netters should be able to find it readily.)

Notes:

1. Galanga is similar to ginger, an edible rhizome available in most Asian
groceries. If not available fresh, you can usually find it frozen. (Well,
this is the SF Bay Area; if you can't find it at Tin Tin or the New Castro
Market, you have to have friends smuggle it in from Bangkok for you...
Other parts of the country may vary.)

2. Chile peppers add a lot to the dish; I've had it so hot that I could
barely eat it, and I've had it completely smooth, sweet and mild. I like it
in the middle.

3. Lemon grass adds a lot to the flavor and aroma, but as near as I can
tell it isn't edible unless you puree it. (If there's sufficient demand,
I'll print my recipe for Vietnamese turkey fajitas.) I just eat around the
slices of lemon grass and ginger.

Posted to rec.food.recipes by megatest!sfisher@uu2.psi.com (Scott Fisher)
on Aug 24, 93.