If you’ve had only one Thai soup, it was probably Tom Yom or Tom Kha.
This is a recipe for coconut soup with mushrooms, Tom Kha Hed.
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Ingredients
We use fresh ingredients, with two exceptions – soy sauce and coconut milk. The soy sauce and coconut milk are very minimally processed.
–1 1/2 cups fresh water or vegetable stock
–2-3 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced thin. Oyster, crimini and straw mushrooms are all good choices. Slice into thin cross-section pieces
–1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped
–1/2 cup sweet pepper – red, orange, yellow – chopped.
–1 cup coconut milk. This coconut milk has two ingredients, the flesh of coconuts and water. We get it at the local Asian market. It’s also available at the co-op and supermarket.
The next three ingredients are for flavor – we don’t usually eat them. We cut them into big pieces so they’re easily removed when our Tom Kha is ready.
Galangal is a root. It’s a relative of ginger. Ginger adds heat to a dish. Galangal cools and refreshes.
– 6 thin slices Galagal.
–3-5 kaffir lime leaves. Kaffir limes are small and dark green with bumpy skin. In Thai cooking we use the skin and leaves. We’ll use the leaves today. When we’re ready to use them, we’ll tear them.
–1 stalk lemon grass. To get the lemon grass ready, whack the stalk with the dull edge of the knife. This releases the flavor and aroma. Then cut the stalk into three-inch pieces.
Galangal, lime leaves and lemon grass are native to Southeast Asia. We get them at the Asian market.
–2-3 small chilis, red or green. These are hot. In the cool climate of the Pacific Northwest, fresh chilis are ready in late summer. We get chilis at the farmers’ market and buy enough for the year. We bag them up and keep them in the freezer. Then we take out what we need as we need it.
At the end of our preparation, we’ll add
–2 tablespoons soy sauce – this is soy protein and water. No added salt, no alcohol. It works very well.
–2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice
Preparation
In a medium size pot, bring water to a boil.
Add lemon grass, galangal and sweet onion.
Cover, return to boil, then reduce heat and boil gently for about five minutes.
Add coconut milk and turn up heat. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently. When the stock boils, add mushrooms, sweet pepper, lime leaves, and the hot chilis.
When the soup returns to boil, cut the heat to simmer and cook until mushrooms are tender and the sweet peppers are getting soft.
Remove from heat.
Add soy sauce and lime juice.
Soup’s on.
When we’re ready to serve, we can fish out the galangal, lime leaves, lemon grass and chilis if you like. Or, better, leave them in and let diners take care of it. They add nice touches of color and texture to the dish.
Serve with rice. Garnish with cilantro, green onion, and a small wedge of lime. Add chili sauce as you like.
A meal for two.
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