For the last two week pretty much everyone in my house has had headcolds. Being stuffed up is super uncomfortable. One way to cope is to consume spicy hot food. My husband and I like Thai food and a month ago we had a new soup at our favorite Thai restaurant. Tom Kha is very similar to Tom Yum but it uses coconut milk. My spouse enjoyed it so much that he ask me to find a recipe and make it for him tonight to help with his cold.
The recipe I found was from Sunset Magazine. Technically it was a Tom Kha Gai recipe because the meat in it was chicken. But the same recipe could be used and different meat such as shrimp substituted. Ironically, the recipe itself is super simple but because we wanted it quite spicy and I couldn’t find fresh lemon grass, I altered it slightly.
- 1 can (14 oz) Light coconut milk
- 1 can (14 oz) Reduced sodium chicken broth
- 6 slices of fresh ginger
- 1 Tbs of grated lemongrass
- 1 pound of chicken breast, cut into thin strips 1 inch long
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 2 tbs Lime juice
- 1 tbs Fish sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 4 tsp Thai chili paste
- 1/2 cup fresh thai basil
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- In a medium saucepan, combine coconut milk, broth, ginger, and lemongrass and bring to boil over high heat. Add chicken, mushrooms, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and chili paste. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is firm and opaque, 5 to 10 minutes. Add basil and cilantro and simmer for 1 minute.
The final product tasted very much like what we were served and the restaurant. It was tasty and helped clear our sinuses. Because the prep time was very small, I’d definitely make it again, especially on a weeknight when I was in a hurry.