Tom Kha Gai

This has long been one of my favourite Thai dishes and I was stoked to learn to make it when at Bebe's Wok n Roll Thai Cooking School in Pai, Northern Thailand.  I find it kinda surprising then that it has taken me almost four years to recreate it in my own kitchen.

I'm a fan of creamy flavours no matter what cuisine we're talking about, and mushrooms are a favourite so this was always going to be the fish for me, in fact I think this may have been one of the very first Thai dishes I tried, way back when.  It really is worth the effort to track down the authentic Thai ingredients, lemongrass and galangal are pretty easy to find these days and you can usually pick up just a small amount for a few coins. Kaffir lime leaves may be a little more pricey, but if you're willing to spend a little to make a dish taste a lot better you won't be sorry. That and you may end up with the beginnings of some curry paste (check out my earlier post on this).

The main thing to remember if you're considering making this dish to get everything ready beforehand as the time passes super quickly between steps and you don't want to end up like me, with coconut milk bubbling all over your stove.  Like most Thai dishes it's quick, easy and super tasty and apart from the volatile coconut milk (which you've now been warned about so don't make my mistake!) a pretty good dish to start with if you're new to Thai cooking as there are no spices to dry roast, grind or blend, just slice, dice and throw it all in!  No excuses, get cooking!

70 - 100g chicken, diced into small chunks

1 onion, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 tomato, cut into bite-sized pieces

30g mushrooms, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 tbsp galangal, sliced thinly (used ginger if you really have to)

1 tbsp lemongrass, sliced thinly (don't substitute, there isn't one, and it smells amazing!)

2 kaffir lime leaves, rolled and cut into thin slices

2 spring onions, cut into 1 inch slices

1/2 chicken stock cube (go on, make your own!)

170ml coconut milk

85ml water

Sauce:

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

2 tsbp fish sauce

1-7 small chilies, cut into thing slices

1/4 tbsp sugar

Put the coconut milk, lemongrass and galangal in a pot and bring to a boil
Add the chicken and cook it until the colour changes

Add onions and mushrooms and cook until the bubbles come up in the middle of the pot, but don't stir!

Add the sauce

Add the tomato

Check the taste!  

Remove from the heat and add the kaffir lime leaves and spring onions.

Stir and serve immediately