Thai Chicken And Rice Soup Kao Tom Gai Food

TOM KA GAI (COCONUT CHICKEN SOUP)

Steps:

• Cut chicken into thin strips and saute in oil for to 2 to 3 minutes until the chicken turns white.
• In a pot, bring coconut milk and water to a boil. Reduce heat. Add ginger, fish sauce, lime juice, cayenne powder and turmeric. Simmer until the chicken is done, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Sprinkle with scallions and fresh cilantro and serve steaming hot.

TOM KA KAI (THAI COCONUT CHICKEN SOUP)

Steps:

• In the bottom of a large soup pot, heat the oil over high heat until very hot but not smoking. I often make this is a wok on the stove.
• Salt the chicken and add to oil, tossing to brown all the pieces. Cook about 3 minutes or until outside is browned, but not necessarily cooked all the way through.
• Add mushrooms and toss. Allow to cook until some of the moisture is cooked out and the mushrooms are soft. Turn down heat to medium-low.
• To prepare the lemongrass, slice and mince the lower portion and reserve the stalk to flavor the soup. You can use a food processor for this, or just mince it by hand. The woody upper portion of the stalk will be removed later, so don't chop it up, simply score it by making a few superficial cuts in it to allow it to flavor the soup.
• Add the whites of the onions, reserving the greens. Add the minced lower portion of the lemongrass, grated galangal, and chilies. Toss until just warmed through.
• Add the lemongrass stalk, lime leaves, chicken stock, coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar and remaining onions, reserving just a few for garnish. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes to allow flavors to blend well.
• Taste test and adjust flavors as follows:.
• Not salty enough - add more fish sauce.
• Too sour - add a little more brown sugar.
• Too spicy - add more coconut milk.
• Not spicy enough - add more chilies.
• Ladle into 4 soup bowls and garnish with remaining onion greens, cilantro, and basil.
• Variations:.
• Add more vegetables such as some sliced red bell peppers with the mushrooms.
• Serve over wide rice noodles for a main dish serving.
• Make vegetarian by increasing mushrooms in place of chicken and substituting vegetable stock.

THAI CHICKEN AND RICE SOUP - KAO TOM GAI

Steps:

• In a medium size pot over low heat, simmer rice, water and salt for about an hour or so until rice is soft.
• Marinate chicken in lime juice/salt for about 5 minutes.
• In a skillet, heat oil and saute onion and garlic until tender; add white pepper and marinated chicken.
• Cook, stirring for 10 minutes or so.
• In small bowls, put 1 cup of heated rice broth and sprinkle with chicken, chopped green onion, celery leaves, and cilantro.
• Serve.

THAI RICE SOUP (KAO TOME GAI)

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat until a bit of garlic sizzles all at once. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often, until it is fragrant and golden, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat, pour hot garlic and oil into heatproof bowl, and set aside to cool.
• Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, and then stir in the cooked rice. When the soup returns to a boil, add the ground meat in generous pinches, by hand or by teaspoons, making free-form meatballs. Stir well, and add the fish sauce. Simmer 3-4 minutes until meat is cooked.
• Top with the crispy garlic in oil, pepper, ginger, green onions, and cilantro. Stir well and serve hot.

THAI CHICKEN WITH CRISPY SHALLOTS IN YELLOW RICE (KAO MOKE GAI)

Steps:

• Combine the cayenne, cumin, coriander, turmeric, pepper, and 1/2 tsp of salt in a small bowl and mix well.
• Sprinkle half of the spice mixture over the chicken pieces, rubbing in to coat well. Set aside coated chicken and remaining spice mixture. Be careful with the spices, as turmeric will leave a yellow stain if it gets on clothing!
• In a dutch oven, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook 8-10 minutes, turning occasionally, until well-browned. Remove chicken to a shallow bowl, cover, and set aside.
• Spoon off some of the oil from the Dutch oven, leaving about 2 tbsp, taking care not to remove any of the browned bits left from the chicken. Reheat the oil and saute the ginger slices for about 30 seconds, turning and pressing down to release the juices. Add garlic and saute, stirring and turning constantly, until golden brown (about 30-45 seconds). If it gets too hot and starts to darken, just add a 1/4 cup or so of water and deglaze (beware of splatters!).
• Add onion and remaining spice mixture to pan. Saute until onion is tender, about 1 minute. Add rice and toss until coated with spiced oil and beginning to turn translucent.
• Add the water and 1 1/2 tsp salt to rice. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Boil rice until surface is dry and grains begin to swell, about 5-7 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low. Return chicken to pan, burying each piece near the bottom of the pan under the rice. Add any juices that have collected in the bowl to the pan. Smooth surface of rice to hide chicken completely. Cover pan and cook over low heat until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small wok or skillet, pour in oil to a depth of 2 inches. Heat over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking (to test, drop a piece of shallot in oil; if it sizzles right away, the oil is ready). Sprinkle sliced shallots over the hot oil and, with a fork, separate the rings and turn them over quickly. When most of the shallots are golden brown, remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towels to drain. When cool enough to touch, spread out on a small plate and set aside, uncovered.
• When the rice and chicken are done, remove from heat and let stand, covered, for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare sauce and garnishes.
• In a small glass mixing bowl, combine vinegar, sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt, stirring until dissolved and thickened. Sprinkle chilie slices over sauce and transfer to a small, non-reactive serving bowl.
• To serve, remove chicken from rice, scraping away any clinging rice grains, and set aside. Fluff the rice with a fork, remove and discard the ginger slices, and mound on a serving platter. Arrange chicken pieces on the platter. Garnish with cucumber slices, cilantro leaves, and crispy shallots. Serve warm or room temperature along with sauce.

KHAO TOM (THAI RICE SOUP)

Steps:

• In a large saucepan combine stock with gingerroot, shallots, lemon grass, rice and salt to taste.
• Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 30 minutes, or until soup is a porridge-like consistency.
• Remove and discard lemon grass. Add the pork, cilantro, fish sauce and lime juice and simmer 5 minutes more.
• Garnish with scallions and cilantro.