Chicken and Coconut Milk Soup
Tom Yum Gai is the quintessential soup of Thai restaurants. The rich coconut milk is offset with tart lime juice and a little hot curry paste. While the resulting flavors taste complex, this soup is very easy to make at home. It's the ideal starter to any Thai meal and great as a light lunch too.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon grape seed, corn, or other neutral oil
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 teaspoons red curry paste, store-bought is fine
- 1 lemongrass stalk, trimmed, smashed, and chopped
- One ½-inch piece fresh galangal or ginger, peeled and sliced
- 3 kaffir lime leaves
- 4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade or canned low-sodium broth
- 1⅓ cups coconut milk
- 12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into ½-inch cubes
- 2 cups fresh shiitake mushroom caps, quartered
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
- 3 scallions, trimmed and minced
- ¼ cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Put the oil, onion, and garlic in a large saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute, then add the curry paste, lemongrass, galangal, and lime leaves. Cook, stirring, until browned and fragrant, about 4 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat to medium and simmer vigorously for 15 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk, chicken, and mushrooms. Cook until the chicken is cooked through and the mushrooms tender, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the lime juice and nam pla; taste and adjust the seasonings. Garnish with the scallions and cilantro and serve. You may remove the galangal and lemongrass before serving, or leave them in; they are delicious to gnaw on at the table.