D is for Dinner: Tom Kha Gai soup
Absinthe chef Patrick Garland may be fresh off a win at Gold Medal Plates Ottawa, but he's got an even bigger challenge ahead of him today on D is for Dinner.
All in a Day's asked Garland to come up with a dish based on whatever's been lingering in the darkest regions of his cupboards… It's a request inspired by CBC Ottawa's food fantasy challenge for Project Give.
LAST WEEK | Wild rice, barley, squash burger with fall slaw and vinaigrette
Here's Garland's recipe for Tom Kha Gai, a Thai soup that features the coconut milk that had been sitting at the back of the Absinthe pantry.
Tom Kha Gai soup
Ingredients (for the broth):
- 1 litre of chicken stock
- 1.5 pucks of palm sugar
- 3 stalks of lemongrass, smashed and chopped
- 2 peeled and sliced shallots
- 1 bunch of coriander with roots
- 2 bulbs of galangal, smashed and chopped
Ingredients (remainder):
- 1 can of coconut milk
- 1 can of coconut cream
- 10 large mushrooms (julienned or torn, depending on the mushroom)
- 3 boneless chicken thighs, julienned
- 3 tablespoons of fish sauce
- 1/2 bunch of coriander leaves
- 3 limes worth of lime juice
- 6 sliced and seeded birds' eye chilies
Directions:
- Make a broth with the ingredients listed in that section above.
- Allow the broth to simmer until it develops a deep flavour.
- Strain it and allow it to cool; the broth will keep in the fridge for five days or in the freezer for almost forever.
- Add the coconut milk and the chicken cold to the broth and gently poach for about 20 minutes.
- While it's cooking, slice the chilies and set them aside in a bowl with the fish sauce and the lime juice.
- Once the chicken is three-quarters cooked, add the mushrooms and finish cooking the chicken.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and mix with the reserved lime juice. Taste until you get a nice mix of sweet, sour and salty. Garnish with coriander leaves.
