Tom Kha Gai (Spicy Chicken Soup in Coconut Milk)

This was an impromptu jump in to the kitchen’s spice collection, throwing things in a big soup pot and voilà, I somehow made a Thai spicy coconut soup, aka Tom Kha Gai. It was pretty simple: brown some onion, garlic, fresh ginger with some oil and butter in a large pot. Add chicken stock and coconut milk (to your taste), some secret Thai ingredients (2 tbsp fish sauce, 2-4 dried chili peppers, chopped lemongrass), and then toss in some meat and cooked veggies, saving the fresh veggies for the end. For the meat, I chopped a chicken breast and stir fried in sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds. For the cooked veggies, I chopped 1 eggplant, tossed it in turmeric, and pan fried in a little bit of water, until the water steamed off. I also added some frozen peas to the soup. For the fresh veggies, I chopped up some red bell pepper, jalapeño, sliced mushrooms, and topped it with basil leaf (versus the traditional cilantro). Top it off with a little roasted red chili paste (or “naam prik pao,” if you want to be Thai fancy) and feast your tastebuds! 

Chef: the gf.