Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 1 hours

Yield: 6 servings

Make with chicken, shrimp, or no meat (can substitute tofu, if desired).

If you use coconut milk and chicken, this is very similar to Tom Khaa Gai

Ingredients

• Optional protein:
• 1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts and/or
• 12 medium shrimp (or 18, depending on size so each serving gets an even number of shrimp)
• 1/2 package of tofu, in 1/2 cubes (if not using meat)
• 10 kaffir lime leaves, hand torn down the middle
• 2″ piece of galangal or ginger, sliced (rough slice so they’re easy to identify and remove)
• 8 oz shiitake, straw, oyster, or maitake mushrooms, sliced
• 2-4 stalks of lemongrass (tough outer layers removed), sliced into 2-4″ pieces
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• A handful of cherry tomatoes (optional)
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 13.5 oz can coconut milk, or 1/2 a small can of coconut cream
• 2 Tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 Tablespoon lime juice (plus lime wedges for serving)
• 4 Thai chilies (optional) or 1 Tablespoon chili sauce (Nam Prik Pao)
• Cilantro leaves (for garnish)

Directions

• Put stock in a pot, on medium high. Add lemongrass, boil for 5 minutes
• Reduce heat to a simmer
• Add Garlic, Lime leaves, and mushrooms (and chilies, if you’re using them)
• Add chicken (optional)
• Simmer for another 5 minutes
• Add shrimp and cherry tomatoes (optional)
• Simmer for another 5 minutes
• Turn heat to low, add coconut milk (optional), and fish sauce
• Taste soup for flavor. If it’s too hot, you can add more coconut milk, and if it’s too sour, you can add a pinch of brown or white sugar
• Optionally, you can remove the lemongrass and lime leaves and ginger before serving, because they’re not meant to be eaten
• Serve with cilantro leaves as a topping
• Also, if making the soup mild for guests, you or your diners can add sliced peppers in the bowls as you’re serving for a bit of heat, and/or chili sauce