Thai-Style Coconut Chicken Soup

I was going to call this Bare-Bones Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai), but man, this isn’t Tom Kha Gai. Or if it is, it’s a very westernized, stripped down version, because I hate having a whole bushel of lemongrass lying around the house, and I can never remember to buy limes. Never mind Thai basil. And it’s much heartier than the usually rather light and fruity Tom Kha Gai you get in restaurants, probably because it cooks much longer, so the gelatin from the bones has time to slightly thicken the broth.

Authentic or not, it’s still pretty damn awesome, and it’s a lot easier to make on a budget. Feel free to throw in some lemongrass if you have it, though.

Sorry that there’s no story behind this, or anything. I could probably make some up, but I just had very hot soup on a very hot day. It’s about time this heat wave went back to the fiery pits from whence it came.

(2-3 portions)

2 chicken thighs
1 large shallot or small onion
1 large-ish clove garlic
5-6 medium-large champignons
1/2 red bell pepper
vegetable oil
500 ml chicken broth
250 ml coconut milk
1 TBS fish sauce
1.5 TBS lemon juice concentrate
1 heaping tsp Thai curry paste (or to taste)
powdered ginger, or about 1 cm fresh, in thin slices
salt, pepper
optional: Thai or regular basil

Julienne the shallot and bell pepper, mince the garlic, and cut the mushrooms into 2-3 mm thick slices.

Heat some vegetable oil in a pot and quickly sauté the shallot, garlic and mushrooms until slightly browned, 2-3 minutes. Remove and set on a plate.

Brown the chicken thighs in the pot (add more oil if necessary). Add broth, coconut milk, fish sauce, lemon juice, curry paste and ginger. Bring to a boil, then simmer until chicken is cooked through, 20-25 minutes.

Remove the chicken and add in the vegetables. Use a fork to tear the meat off the bones and add back into the pot. Season with salt, pepper, and adjust to taste with lemon juice and/or curry paste.

To serve, fill into bowls and drizzle with about a TBS of coconut milk. Garnish with basil if desired.