Tom Ka Gai (chicken And Coconut Milk Soup)

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Note: preferably Thai birds, with serranos an acceptable substitute,
(though I've used sweet Fresno chiles in a variation I'll describe
below).  Instructions: ============= Pour the lime juice on the chicken
and let  stand while you prepare the rest of the soup. In a medium
saucepan,  place the coconut milk, lemon grass, grated lime peel,
galanga or  ginger, and (optionally) chiles. (The optional part is that
if you  don't want the whole dish to taste spicy, add the chiles later;
the  earlier you add them, the hotter the resulting dish.) Bring the
coconut milk to a simmer.  When the soup is simmering, add the
lime-soaked chicken pieces and  stir to distribute them.  Reduce the
heat so the soup stays just  below a boil and cook for 12 to 15
minutes, or till the chicken  pieces are finished cooking. Remove from
heat and serve immediately  with fresh cilantro leaves for garnish.
Now, the best way I ever had this soup was with pieces of fresh
grouper instead of chicken.  I also added slices of kumquats instead
of the ginger, and used the sweet Fresno chiles instead of Thai  birds.
We also served it over Vietnamese rice noodles.  Was it  southeast
Asian or Caribbean? Who cares, it was wonderful.  If you  can't find
grouper, it'd be good with any tender, delicate white fish  ~- sole,
maybe, or a very fresh sea bass, or maybe little chunks of  monkfish. I
believe I've had this with shrimp as well.  (Grouper,  BTW, is a type
of fish common in the Caribbean and, if I recall, in  other warm-water
parts of the world; the flesh is very white, very  tender, and quite
delicately flavored. I've seen it in one Asian  grocery store in the
Bay Area, as well as in the Bahamas, so I'd  guess that Gulf Coast
netters should be able to find it readily.)  Notes: ====== 1. Galanga
is similar to ginger, an edible rhizome  available in most Asian
groceries. If not available fresh, you can  usually find it frozen.
(Well, this is the SF Bay Area; if you can't  find it at Tin Tin or the
New Castro Market, you have to have friends  smuggle it in from Bangkok
for you...  Other parts of the country may  vary.)  2.  Chile peppers
add a lot to the dish; I've had it so hot that I  could barely eat it,
and I've had it completely smooth, sweet and  mild. I like it in the
middle.  3.  Lemon grass adds a lot to the flavor and aroma, but as
near as I  can tell it isn't edible unless you puree it.  (If there's
sufficient  demand, I'll print my recipe for Vietnamese turkey
fajitas.) I just  eat around the slices of lemon grass and ginger.
From: megatest!sfisher@uu2.psi.com (Scott Fisher)  File
ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/mmdja006.zip

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
----------------------------------------------
Calories: 1186
Calories From Fat: 718
Total Fat: 84.9g
Cholesterol: 102.1mg
Sodium: 1263.8mg
Potassium: 1235.6mg
Carbohydrates: 55.9g
Fiber: 10.7g
Sugar: 6.8g
Protein: 61g