Coconut Flavored Chicken Soup

Also know as Tom Ka Gai.  I LOVE Tom Ka Gai. It's one of my favorite soups to get during the fall/winter months when I go to Thai food.  It's rich, filling, and oh so good.

I've never been successful making Tom Ka Gai.

Until now.

Martin Yan's recipe is super easy and quick.

The hardest part was finding lemongrass (If you have a Uwajamaya in your area or any Asian food store, I'm sure they'll have it. That's where I found it. In a pinch, I read somewhere you can use lemon rind.)

If you do nothing else this winter, make this soup. You will not be disappointed.

Little note about coconut milk. It can curdle. It curdled on me when I added it to the chicken broth. I'm not a fan of curdled milk. I knew logically it was fine, but it looked gross and the texture is weird.  I was deeply concerned. Then I turned my back and almost over boiled the entire soup.  Turns out boiling makes the curdling go away. So boil this soup long enough to avoid curdling.

Unless you like curdling.
Coconut Flavored Chicken Soup
Recipe from Martin Yan
Makes: 4 servings

• 3/4-pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 stalks lemongrass
• 2 slices ginger, each the size of a quarter, lightly crushed
• 3 c chicken broth
• 1 can (13 1/2 oz.) unsweetened coconut milk
• 3 T fish sauce
• 1/2 c straw mushrooms, drained (I used button mushrooms)
• 3 T lime juice
• 1 fresh jalapeno chili, seeded and thinly sliced
• 3 T chopped cilantro
• Thinly slice chicken. Lightly crush bottom 6 inches of lemongrass with the dull side of a kitchen knife; trim and discard remainder.

Place lemongrass, ginger, and broth in a 2-quart pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, and add coconut milk, fish sauce; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add chicken, lime juice, lime zest, and chili; stir once to separate slices of chicken. Simmer until chicken turns opaque, 4 to 5 minutes.

Just before serving stir in cilantro.