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4 Brillant Comments

Thai Chicken Soup with Coconut Milk

The end of winter can be one of the least-inspiring cooking seasons. Skiers call it the off-season, when there’s not enough snow to ski on, and too much mud to mountain bike on. It’s the same scene at the dinner table. We’re tired of stews, braises, and hearty roasted dishes. Give us something fresh. But the fresh hasn’t quite arrived. This, my friends, is the perfect time for Thai food. Spicy, sour, salty, sweet, tropically-inspired dishes with ingredients that can be found most months of the year. This is food to awaken the palate from a tired, brown gravy slumber.

Thai Chicken Soup with Coconut Milk

This soup may not be much to look at– it’s kind of monochrome, like winter; but if you know Tom Kha Gai, you know that the taste is totally panoramic. It’s sweet and creamy with coconut milk, sour and aromatic with lime and lemongrass, spicy with fiery red chilies, and all brought to harmony by the salty base note of fish sauce. This is a soup that can buoy you towards spring. It’s super easy to make at home and comes together in a flash for an easy, soul-brightening weeknight meal.

It also happens to be filled with thyroid-loving goodness. Coconut, galangal (or ginger) and chilies fire up metabolism, mushrooms provide a solid dose of selenium which is a key thyroid nutrient, and cilantro helps to remove heavy metals from the body, which are damaging to the thyroid and one of the major causes of thyroid dysfunction.

Tom Kha Gai, or Thai Chicken Soup with Coconut Milk, uses some authentic Thai ingredients, which may be bad news for those of us living in little landlocked towns like Saginaw, Sheridan, or Sioux Falls. The good news is that there are substitutions for these ingredients that can be found in any grocery store. And the even better news is that I have made this soup with both authentic Thai ingredients, like lime leaves, and with common substitutions, like lime zest, with little compromise in flavor. That’s rare, but I feel it’s true in this case.

13Mar2011 136

Clockwise from left: galangal coins, lime leaves, sliced lemongrass.

Sometimes I can find things like galangal, sometimes not. Just roll with it.

galangal

Galangal looks similar to ginger but is less pungent in flavor and more aromatic.

My green-thumbed husband takes care of our Makrut lime tree, so I don’t have to look far for those.

kefir lime leaves

Makrut lime leaves

A Couple Tom Kha Gai Making Tips:

  • The key to this soup, as in many Thai recipes, lies in striking the right balance between sweet, sour, spicy, and salty flavors. That balance is one of the crowning principles of Thai cuisine, and there’s no other way to reach it than to taste, taste, taste. Tweak it with a bit of extra fish sauce for salt, an extra squeeze of lime for sour, an extra pinch of sugar for sweet, or an extra hit of chilies for spice. Taste and tweak repeatedly until you find yourself wanting to taste again and again and again. That means it’s done : )
  • Shrimp is a delicious and thyroid-friendly alternative to chicken in this soup, but add them towards the end of cooking, so they don’t get overcooked.
  • A note regarding spice: since I’m cooking for a 4-year-old, I omit the chili paste until we’ve ladled out the soup and hubs and I can stir it into our bowls, to taste– works just fine. Sriracha has a major cult following, but if you haven’t tried it, you may prefer the more multi-dimensional flavor of  Sambal Oelek. I know I do.
  • I use the simmering broth to peel the tomatoes. Simply use a paring knife to cut out the core, and then slash a shallow X in the other end of the tomato. Drop into the simmering broth for about 1 minute or until the skins begin to split and peel. Remove from soup and set aside until cool enough to peel, seed, and dice. Piece a cake.
The tomato before being blanched.

The tomato before being blanched.

...and after.

…and after. The skins slip right off.

 

The Breakdown

  • Coconut products such as coconut milk contain healthy fats which can aid in hormone balance. Consumption of healthy fats is commonly recommended for those with thyroid issues for this reason. They are also a positive substitution for refined carbs and sugar in the diet, which can diminish thyroid health and promote an overabundance of estrogen. A word of caution: many canned foods are contaminated with BPA, which is absorbed from the plastic lining of the can. To avoid the hormonal disruption that can occur from ingesting BPA, purchase coconut milk in cans that are labeled, “BPA-free.”
  • Chinese medicine suggests warming foods like ginger and chilies for the treatment of hypothyroidism because they are metabolism boosters. The powerful anti-inflammatory properties of ginger can help relieve the inflammation often associated with hypothyroidism.
  • Selenium is a nutrient important to the production and regulation of thyroid hormones, and mushrooms happen to be one of the top 10 foods highest in selenium. Just one crimini mushroom provides 7% DV of selenium. I suggest using criminis in this soup because the selenium content is higher than that of button mushrooms.
  • Cilantro is a detoxifying herb and helps rid the body of heavy metals like mercury. Heavy metal toxicity is among the leading causes of thyroid disease. So load up on that garnish– it’s delicious and good for your health.

 

26 Feb 2016 014 edit

 

Thai Chicken Soup with Coconut Milk

Created by Ginny Mahar on February 27, 2016

Tom Kha Gai Also known as Tom Kha Gai, this flavorful, soul-stirring soup doesn't require a long cooking time and comes together quickly for an easy weeknight meal. If you're feeding young children, simply leave the chili paste or sriracha out, and stir it in to each bowl to taste, at the table. I like a touch of heat and put about a teaspoon of sambal oelek in my bowl. Shrimp is a delicious alternative to chicken in this soup. The lime leaves, galangal, and lemon grass stalks are typically left in the soup for serving, but are not meant to be eaten.

  • Prep Time: 20m
  • Cook Time: 20m
  • Total Time: 40m
  • Serves: 4
  • Category: Main Course, Soups

Ingredients

  • 2 stalks lemongrass, or 1/4 cup prepared lemongrass paste (sometimes available in the produce section, refrigerated), or zest of 1 lemon
  • 4 c chicken broth, preferably homemade
  • 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced into 1-inch-long pieces
  • 2 c thinly sliced crimini mushrooms
  • 5 lime leaves, or zest of 1 lime
  • 1 [3-inch] piece galangal or fresh ginger root, cut into coins
  • 2 large roma tomatoes
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 2 to 4 tbsp. fresh squeezed lime juice (from 1 to 2 limes), or to taste
  • 2 to 3 tbsp. fish sauce** (see note), or to taste
  • sambal oelek, sriracha, or hot sauce, to taste
  • 1 tsp. brown sugar, packed
  • 2/3 c chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1/4 c thinly sliced green onion

Instructions

  1. If using fresh lemon grass, cut lower half of stalk into 1-inch pieces, and discard tops.
  2. In a large (5 quart) pot bring chicken broth to a boil. Add lemongrass, chicken breast, onion, mushrooms, and lime leaves and galangal or ginger coins. If substituting lemon and/or lime zest, do not add yet . Reduce heat and let simmer 5 – 7 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
  3. To peel and seed the tomatoes: use a small paring knife to remove the stem from the tomatoes, and then cut an X in the skin on the opposite end of the tomatoes. Add to broth and let simmer 1 minute, or until skins have begun to split and peel away. Remove from broth and let rest until cool enough to handle. Remove skin– it should pull away easily. Cut in half and with your fingertips, remove and discard seeds. Dice the tomato flesh into 1/4 inch cubes, and add to soup.
  4. Reduce heat to medium. Add coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce, chili paste or hot sauce, and brown sugar to soup. If substituting lemon and/or lime zest, add now. Stir to combine until soup is heated through* (see note). Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, or chilies as needed to reach the perfect salty/sour/sweet/spicy balance. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with fresh cilantro and green onion, and serve.

Notes

  1. *Do not boil the soup once coconut milk is added. A low, brief simmer is fine, but boiling can separate the coconut milk, similar to heavy cream.
  2. ** Fish sauce is commonly available in the Asian section of most grocery stores, but if you need to substitute use 1 tablespoon anchovy paste and 2 – 3 tablespoons soy sauce.
Source: Ginny
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Filed Under: Main Course, Soups Tagged With: chicken, chilies, coconut milk, dairy free, ginger, Gluten Free, Low Carb, mushrooms, tomatoes

Previous Post: « Brown Rice Salad with Shrimp and Avocado
Next Post: Cilantro and Hypothyroidism »

Reader Interactions

Join the Discussion

  1. Wendy says

    February 29, 2016 at 12:49 pm

    Looks awesome but I wouldn’t use that name for the lime leaves: http://modernfarmer.com/2014/07/getting-rid-k-word/

    Reply
    • Ginny Mahar says

      February 29, 2016 at 7:21 pm

      Eeeek! Whoa thanks for letting me know Wendy. I had no idea. Changing now.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Cilantro and Hypothyroidism - Hypothyroid Chef says:
    March 11, 2016 at 12:14 am

    […] Thai Chicken Soup with Coconut Milk […]

    Reply
  2. Chicken Cilantro - Hypothyroid Chef says:
    March 15, 2016 at 12:01 pm

    […] it’s been Cilantro Fest 2016 in my kitchen. You saw cilantro in my most recent post for Thai Chicken Soup with Coconut Milk. I’ve also been working on a new cilantro smoothie recipe (stay tuned). Earlier this week […]

    Reply

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