I nipped into my local Thai food shop at the weekend to get some crucial ingredients for my planned Thai soup of yumminess. I’m sure Waitrose stock some of the stuff on my list, but there’s something a lot more charming about an authentic store on your doorstep.
Traditional Thai Market
In true Thai style, the guy that runs it is super nice and helpful – immediately showing me where everything is I needed and even giving me tips on freezing lemongrass and rehydrating the somewhat shrivelled galangal.
So with a bagful of exotic loveliness I headed home and got the soup on.
Thai Cooking Adventures
The recipe is from the beautifully photographed book Thai Food and Cooking by Judy Bastyra and Becky Johnson. We bought it from the airport on our way home from Thailand when we couldn’t bear the thought that our holiday was finally over.
To be honest we’ve not attempted much out of it. Matthew tried to make a Thai omlette once, with terrible results. I guess we’ve not trusted the book since, and it certainly knocked the confidence of Mr B’s kitchen prowess.
Thai Flavours
But enough years have passed for me to take a deep breath and try again. It was a good call because the resulting soup was creamy, fragrant and, well, quite beautiful.
Let’s face it, soups aren’t normally on the menu on such sweltering days, but the Thai flavours just made it seem right somehow.
Not forgetting the delicious home made chicken stock and left over chicken meat from the roast earlier in the week. That was a fabulous contribution to the mix.
I’m not sure what’s going on with my coriander though. Since we harvested the first batch of leaves it’s come back all frondy – it looks more like dill frankly. But it still tastes like coriandar. Weird. Any ideas anyone?!
Fragrant Thai Soup Recipe
A warming Galangal, chicken and coconut soup perfect for cold days
- 4 lemon grass stalks roots trimmed
- 2 x 400ml cans coconut milk use half fat if you want it to be less lardy
- 475 ml chicken stock
- 2.5 cm piece of fresh galangal peeled and thinly sliced
- 10 black peppercorns crushed
- 10 kaffir lime leaves torn
- 300 g skinless, boneless chicken breast portions cut into thin strips (I used leftover roast chicken morsels)
- 115 g button mushrooms
- 50 g baby corn quartered lengthways
- 60 ml fresh lime juice
- 3 tbsp Thai Fish Sauce
- chopped fresh red chillies, spring onions and coriander leaves to garnish
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Cut off the lower 5cm from each lemon grass stalk and chop finely. Bruise the remaining pieces of stalk.
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Bring the coconut milk and chicken stock to the boil in a large pan over a medium heat.
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Add the chopped and bruised lemon grass, the galangal, peppercorns and half the kaffir lime leaves, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Strain the soup into a clean pan.
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Return the soup to a low heat, then stir in the chicken strips, mushrooms and corn. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 mins, or until the chicken is cooked.
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Stir in the lime juice and fish sauce, then add the remaining lime leaves. Ladle into warm bowls and serve, garnished with chopped chillis, spring onions and coriander leaves.
Chicken Stock
I’ve got a decent amount left in the fridge for my lunches this week, which’ll help me move on from my tomato and mozzarella obsession!
I’m steadily using up the chicken stock. I’ve done this soup, a tasty pea risotto for the kids and i’ve got one more hit left which i’m saving for some courgette and lemon couscous later in the week.
