Tom Kha Gai / Tom Yam Chicken - AFF Thailand

Hi everyone, I'm back! Has it been almost 6 weeks already? Time certainly flies. 

My apologies for the abrupt hiatus; I have a very valid reason for this - I had a baby :)  Yup, a real life, kicking and crying little bundle of cuteness overload.  I've just finished my jail confinement period and am now trying to regain some sense of normality by attempting to blog again!

So bear with me if my posts are a little slow in coming, as I (and the family for that matter) adjust to a new routine with a new addition to the family.

I had actually prepared some draft posts in anticipation for AFF Japan, but didn't have a chance to submit them.  This Tom Yam Chicken post was also prepared in advance, and I'm determined to tick off AFF Thailand with at least ONE submission :)

This recipe was adapted from the popular blog She Simmers, one of my favourite Thai cooking blog.  The multitude of tom yam recipes invariably use pounded red chillies to give that extra fiery kick and red hue to the soup broth, but I am finding myself more and more inclined towards the non chili version. 

It is just as appetizing without risking an unsettled, burning tummy.  It is also kid-friendly, which fits into my quest these days to widen my son's palate and expose him to other flavours and cuisine.

This recipe is one of my favourite, quick Thai tom yum version - you just throw everything in, boil and serve.  Easy peasy.


Tom Kha Gai - Tom Yam Chicken
Recipe adapted from She Simmers, with minor modifications

• 400g boneless chicken breast, diced into bite size chunks
• 2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, smashed
• 2 inch fresh galangal, sliced
• 5 pieces of kaffir lime leaves, loosely torn
• Juice of 4 limes
• 4 tblspn fish sauce
• 1 tsp chicken stock powder
• 1/2 cup Chinese parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup full cream coconut milk
• 2 tbspn brown sugar/palm sugar
• 1/2 can of straw mushrooms, halved
• 1 bird's eye chili, finely sliced (optional, omit if serving to children)
• 2 cups of water

1. Bring the water to a boil, add in the lemon grass, galangal and chicken stock powder.  Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for about 15 minutes.
2. Add the chicken meat and straw mushrooms, and keep simmering.  Do not bring to a rolling boil as that would toughen the meat. 
3. Once the meat is just cooked, add in the kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, coconut milk, sugar and lime juice.  Adjust the taste,  it should firstly be sour, followed by salty, and then a lingering sweetness.  At this point, stir in the bird's eye chilli. 
4. Serve with a generous garnish of chopped Chinese parsley and steam rice

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest - Thailand, November month hosted by Lena of Frozen Wings