Tom Ka.... mmmmmm good!

From Uncle Scott.....

Tom Kha Gai

This is my personal method for making this soup. There are MANY ways to do it, most of which I'll touch on as I go. It is a soup, but in many ways it is also a curry. The ingredients proportioned differently could easily be served over rice.

I'm a perfectionist - and like to individually cook ingredients then add them to create a finished product, rather than timing their addition to a hot fluid such that they all end up cooked “just right” as the same time. I'm not that coordinated.  It is a convention in much Asian cooking to present vegetables with even, identical cuts which have been quickly cooked so they still retain a crunch.

The base for the soup is an infused coconut milk/chicken stock broth.    Chicken, tofu, cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms make up the edible solids. Other vegetables can be added, but the real flavor of the soup comes from infusing the coconut milk. This is done with galanga root, ginger, lemongrass, lime zest, garlic, Kaffir lime leaves, and hot peppers. You can also add Cilantro, some recipes use Basil, or coriander seed. I stick with the first set.

I start with good coconut milk and use homemade stock usually, 2 parts coconut milk and one part stock. This can be varied to change the richness of the broth. Be aware that coconut milk wants to curdle when boiled, the higher your ratio of stock to coconut milk the less a danger this is.

Recommend

8C. Chicken Stock

8C. Coconut Milk

Mix in a large pot, using a thermometer - or mark one eyeball - bring it to a point just below boiling, keep it there as you add infusion ingredients, DO NOT ALLOW IT TO BOIL.

Infusion

I use ground fresh infusion ingredients usually, they infuse faster and there's less waste. Beware that it's also easier to overdo something this way. Most restaurant versions of this soup use big chunks slowly infused and served with the final product, the eater just leaves them behind when eating the dish. Some of these ingredients are inherent to a lot of Thai cooking and there are no good substitutes, do so at your own risk. The final product won't “wow” you if you use all ginger instead of galanga, or all lime zest instead of Kaffir lime leaves. Most of the exotic stuff can only be had at an Asian grocery. Buy a lot when there, and freeze it to make more Tom Kha another day. There is often a chopped frozen lemongrass product available in the freezer aisle.

Infuse the stock with these flavors to personal taste. This can be anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours depending on the strength, volume, and cut of the infusion ingredients. The heat of the fluid also affects the speed of infusion.

When it tastes right to you strain the stock and remove and discard the solids. Return the infused broth to the pot.  DO NOT LET THE FLUID BOIL.

Add to broth:

1/3-1/2C. Chopped Fresh Ginger

1/3C. Chopped Fresh Galanga Root

1/2C. Chopped Fresh Lemongrass

2T Lime Zest

10-15 Whole Kaffir Lime Leaves

10 Chopped or Crushed Garlic Cloves

1-4 Chopped medium-hot pepper(s) of your choice (cayenne, Serrano, jalapeno, Thai chili, etc.)

Seasoning

You'll notice the recipe has no salt. This is because fish sauce is a big player in this soup. Add seasonings to taste to get the salt balance where you want it to be. Be aware that fish sauce is often anchovy based but is usually made at plants that also process shellfish. Whether or not it says so - assume it contains shellfish and check for allergies in your audience. Also an ingredient that really makes the soup authentic is shrimp paste. It can be skipped (the fish sauce can't!).

Add these to the sauce in small increments until it's just a touch too salty.  The ingredients you add later will bring the apparent salinity down, and the lime juice (added last) will balance the fish sauce as a flavor.  I also like some sweetness, which rounds out the heat of the peppers.  Palm sugar is more traditional, but brown sugar is effectively identical.

1/3-1/2C. Fish sauce

1-3t. Shrimp Paste

1/4C. Palm Sugar

Poaching

Next add 4-5 pounds of boneless bite size chopped dark or white meat chicken to the fluid and parboil it to cook. This incorporates the flavors into the meat and adds the meat juices to the soup. I like dark meat, but both work well.  The restaurant version is usually white meat. I also like to add carrots for color. Depending on the chop size and intended final softness you might want to add them with the chicken. Sometimes I stir fry them separately to put some brown on the them and add them at the end.

4# Boneless Dark Meat Chicken chopped into 1” chunks

When the chicken is almost - but not fully - cooked you can add the mushrooms, tofu, and cabbage - which will cook to the desired state in less than five minutes. I add the mushrooms usually a few minutes before the cabbage and tofu.  Remove from heat as soon as the soup wilts the cabbage.

1 Large Head Napa Cabbage chopped to 1” squares

1# Mushrooms cut to large bite size. Crimini or standard horse mushrooms are

good. Shiitake sound good for an Asian dish, but I usually find them too

nutty - and they take much longer to soften/cook.

1# Extra firm tofu.

Lastly add the lime juice, the acidity and floral nature of the citrus is very important to the finished dish. You may want to add more to taste.  This is added last because the acidity of the juice can also induce the broth to curdle.

1/2C Lime Juice

Service

Garnish upon serving with fresh Cilantro. This is a must. The combination of fresh flavor with the soup is a peanut butter and chocolate type of synergy - not to be overlooked! Limes are standard.  Another convention is to float some red pepper infused chili oil on the top for color and flavor. If you like it hotter than your table-mates this is a good way to compromise.

1 Large bunch cilantro broken down into sprigs.

2 Limes, cut into wedges

Chili Oil Drizzle over finished bowls