Tom Khaa Soup

© 2013 REMCooks.com

This is a really tasty soup and requires very little effort. It’s one of those perfect weeknight meals that warms you on a cold winter night. You can also enjoy it in the summer because it is just darn good and takes so little time it hardly warms up your house.

Sorry guys. I have been exceptionally busy of late. What cooking we have done at home we simply have not been able to document appropriately for posting.  Nevertheless, I still have several dishes I have been wanting to post but haven’t due to their lack of step-by-step photos. This recipe is one of those. It’s an older recipe that I haven’t remade to better document the process in photos. The soup, however, is ridiculously easy so you really shouldn’t need step-by-step photos. Nonetheless, we will make it again and when we do I will make sure we get the step-by-step photos for your reading enjoyment. Don’t let the lack of photos, however, prevent you from making this dish, especially if you have never had it. It is a wonderful soup. It is very satisfying and nurturing on a cold winter day with an incredible depth of flavor. You get the tang from the lime with the flavor of the citrus from the lemongrass and lime. You have the sweetness from the coconut milk, the savoriness from the chicken stock and shrimp, a little kick from the red chiles and a floral element from the fresh cilantro at the end. If you thought you could never fix a Thai dish, think again. You cannot get much easier than this and, to top it off, you can make the whole dish (including the prep time) in less than 30 minutes, no Rachael Ray pre choreographing required. So, when you’re pressed for time to fix dinner, give this recipe a try. You will like it.

Ingredients

• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 stalk lemongrass, minced
• 3 kaffir lime leaves
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 red chilies, finely diced
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce (nam pla)
• 1 Tbsp ginger, grated
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup green bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 12 raw shrimp, 21-25 count, peeled and deveined
• 8 oz canned coconut milk
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish

Instruction

Pour chicken stock into a large pot and bring to a boil.

Trim the lemongrass by cutting off the root end and the top 2/3 of the stalk. This provides you the “bulb” of the lemongrass. Remove the two outer leaves revealing the tender inside bulb. Mince the bulb and add the minced lemongrass bulb to the the pot. Continue to boil for another 1-2 minutes. For additional flavor, take the top part of the lemongrass and crush it with a pot/pan. Tie it in a knot and add it to the stalk.

Next, add the garlic, chile, lime leaves, ginger, bell pepper, and mushrooms. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 1-2 minutes.

Now, add the shrimp. Simmer 3-4 minutes, or until shrimp is pink and plump.

Reduce heat to medium-low and add the coconut milk plus fish sauce and lime juice. Stir well to combine and gently simmer until hot.

Serve in bowls with sprinkled chopped fresh coriander. Enjoy.

VARIATION/CORRECTION

I hate it when I post things that are not accurate. Nonetheless, The High Heel Gourmet (nice blogger – go check her out) very politely pointed out in her comment that Tom Khaa meant galangal soup and I didn’t even use galangal in the recipe. Needless to say, I was and am a little chagrinned over this. For those of you unfamiliar, this is galangal.

© 2013 REMCooks.com

It looks like ginger in a way, doesn’t it? It’s because they are related. In fact, some people refer to galangal as “white ginger.” Nonetheless, as a result of The High Heel Gourmet’s comment, Baby Lady & I recently redid the recipe with galangal to determine the difference the use of galangal made. I also did some research on galangal. In doing the research, I found that there are 2 types of galangal; one believed to be from Indonesia and the other from China. Each galangal has a different flavor profile. The galangal that originated in Indonesia is also called “lengkuas” and has a multilayered, sharp flavor with a pine like aroma. This is the galangal that is more commonly found in in the US. The galangal found in southern China has a pungent flavor and tastes like a combination of pepper and ginger. I will have to take various reports on this galangal’s flavor as accurate because I did not find this variety at any of the local Asian markets. This is the galangal that is popular in Thailand and locally called krachaai. Presumably, krachaai is the galangal used in this Thai soup. Regardless, depending upon the galangal used in the recipe, the flavor will vary.

Because what we had available was the Indonesian lengkuas that is what we used. It definitely has a pine like aroma and a sharp flavor. Further, the difference between the use of ginger and galangal is as different as night and day. Ginger has a warm flavor whereas lengkuas has a cool flavor.

Here is the redo with supporting photos.

Ingredients

• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 stalk lemongrass, crushed and tied in a knot
• 3 kaffir lime leaves
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce (nam pla)
• 1 Tbsp galangal, grated
• 1/3 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 1/3 cup jalapeño, diced
• 1/3 cup sugar snap peas, sliced on diagonal
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 12 oz. raw shrimp, 21-25 count, peeled and deveined
• 8 oz canned coconut milk
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish

© 2013 REMCooks.com

Instruction

Pour chicken stock and lemongrass into a large pot and bring to a boil.

© 2013 REMCooks.com

Continue to boil for another 1-2 minutes.

Next, add the garlic, chile, lime leaves, galangal, bell pepper, sugar snaps and mushrooms.

© 2013 REMCooks.com

Reduce heat to medium and simmer 1-2 minutes.

Now, add the shrimp. Simmer 3-4 minutes, or until shrimp is pink and plump.

© 2013 REMCooks.com

Reduce heat to medium-low and add the coconut milk plus fish sauce and lime juice.

© 2013 REMCooks.com

Stir well to combine and gently simmer until hot.

Ladle into bowls

© 2013 REMCooks.com

Sprinkled chopped fresh coriander

© 2013 REMCooks.com

Serve and enjoy.

© 2013 REMCooks.com

NOTES:  Depending upon where you live, Kaffir lime leaves can be either unavailable or ridiculously expensive. This can create some problems with this dish (as well as many other Thai dishes). You see, it is difficult to find a suitable substitute for Kaffir lime leaves inasmuch as they have a distinct floral note. If you are faced with the inability to find Kaffir lime leaves you are presented 2 options. Some people recommend you simply skip the Kaffir lime leaves in the recipe, whereas, others recommend that for each fresh Kaffir lime leaf, use 1/2 of a small bay leaf plus 1/4 tsp of lime zest and 1/8 tsp fresh lemon thyme. Inasmuch as I have fresh Kaffir lime leaves available at the local Asian markets I haven’t tried the substitution so I make no comment on its propriety as a suitable substitute.

If the soup is too sour for your taste, add 1/2 tsp. brown sugar or honey. If it is too spicy or you like it creamier, add more coconut milk. If is too salty, add another squeeze of lime juice. If not salty enough, add more fish sauce. Baby Lady likes to add chile garlic sauce for a little extra kick. You can also use red This curry paste (recipe found here) which not only provides a nice little kick but some extra depth of flavor.

Last, if you want the soup to be more filling with additional depth of flavor you can always use additional vegetables of your choosing, i.e. scallions, tomatoes, bok choy, broccoli, asparagus, green peas, etc. You can even add soft or medium tofu, if you like. It’s up to you. This is a soup that you can customize to accommodate your tastes. Have it your way. Just make sure you have it.