Tom Kha Kai

Ingredients:

Chicken	300 grams
Young galangal, thin sliced	1/4 cup
Coconut cream	1 cup
Coconut milk	3 cups
Lemon grass stem	1 each
Kaffir lime leaves	3-4 each
Fish sauce	3 tablespoons
Lemon juice	3 tablespoons
Hot chilies	10 each
Coriander plant	1 each

Directions:

• Slice chicken into small pieces, boil in 1 cup of coconut milk for aproximately 15 minutes and remove from the heat.
• Heat the remaining coconut milk, add galangal, thinly sliced lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, chicken and fish sauce, and simmer on a low heat.When the chicken becomes tender, add coconut cream.
• Correct seasoning with lemon juice and crushed hot chilies for sourness and spiciness, spoon onto a serving bowl, and sprinkle with coriander leaves.

Correct Characteristics of Tom Kha Kai:

• Coconut milk must not be too as rich as cream, but be white yellow in color from the color of coconut milk and old galangal cooked together.
• The soup must be fragrant from galangal and have the outstanding taste of sourness, followed by saltiness and sweetness.
• Galangal must be well-cooked and not taste bland. Lemon grass must be well-cooked as well.

Cooking Tips:

• Chicken meat must be horizontally sliced and cooked in coconut milk first to ensure pleasant smell and tenderness.
• Coconut milk and old galangal must be cooked together first to ensure fragrant soup. After being added with coconut cream, the soup should not be cooked on high heat too long or the coconut cream will become oily sheens and sticky balls.

Eating Culture:

1. Thai food is eaten family style, where all kinds of dishes including soups, curries etc. are placed in the middle of a dining table and served with serving spoons. Each person is given a plate of rice and all can choose what to eat with rice according to their taste. According to the Thai traditional style, Tom Kha Kai is eaten either with the main meal with rice rather than the first course.
2. To make it Western eating style, Tom Kha Kai can be served alone as soup.
3. At all times, Chuchee should be served piping hot.

How to Serve:

Divide Tom Kha Kai soup and its content into equal portions and put in serving bowls. Top with coriander leaves. Serve either with the main meal for eating with rice or alone as soup.

Recipe Variations:

If desired, other kinds of meat can be used in place of chicken while Tom Kha Mushroom substituting soy sauce or salt for fish sauce is suitable for vegetarians.

Name Derivative :

Tom Kha Kai is named according to its cooking method – boiling (Tom) – and its main ingredient - galangal (Kha).

Nutritional and Medicinal Properties of Herbs used in Tom Kha Kai:

Ka On (Young Galangal root)

Use : Tomka Gai can be literally translated to boiled Chicken with Galangal. The galangal gives a pleasant flavor, covers up the natural chicken smell and nullifies the fatty taste of the coconut milk. It is an essential ingredient of this delicious and popular dish.
Medicinal properties :Relieves skin rash, diarrheas, indigestion and body pain due to crash and fall.

Kaffir Lime Leaves or Bai Ma Krood (in Thai):

Kaffir lime leaf is a major ingredient of Tom Yam, Tam Kha, and all kinds of Thai curry which gives good aroma of Thai cooking. It aids digestion and relieves stomachache.

Lemongrass or Ta Krai (in Thai):

The lemongrass in Tom Yam Kung not only serves as a flavouring agent and helps balance the flavour, but also acts as carminative in addition to containing calcium. It improves the shrimp flavor, gives a well balanced taste to the liquid when being chewed on, and offers a medicinal value in aiding digestion. Lemon grass is a good source of fiber, iron and B-vitamins.
Lemon grass aids digestion, relieves stomach pain, increases urine production, relieves gall stone problems and high blood pressure.

Chili Peppers or Prik Kee Nu (in Thai):

These small fresh Thai chili peppers whose essential oil and flavors give the characteristic hot taste and aroma of Thai cooking. It is the star ingredient of most dishes. Almost any dish will taste better with a small addition of these tiny hot peppers. Tom Yam and Tom Kha cannot be made without them.
This kind of herb relieves diarrhea, stimulates digestion, the heat increases blood flow to taste buds and thus increases appetite, relieves infection, dissolves blood clot and prevents intestinal cancer.

Coriander Leaves (Cilantro Leaves) or Bai Pak Chee (in Thai):

Tom Yam, Tom Kha, soups and salads require coriander leave as a flavorful and colorful garnish. It aids digestion, prevents constipation, cures scurry, pellagra and beriberi, increases appetite and relieves cold symptoms.

Lime or Manao (in Thai):

Lime juice is an ingredient in Yam (Thai salad), Tom Yam and Kaeng Som (Thai sour curry) and as beverage. It relieves coughs, sore throat, swollen gum, tooth bleeding, constipation, dizziness, the lack of Vitamin C, and phlegm.