Kai Soup Recipes

KHAO SOI SOUP

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir chopped shallots and garlic until garlic starts to turn golden, 2 to 4 minutes. Add red curry paste and curry powder; cook and stir until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add coconut milk, water, chicken, and sea salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer soup.
• Mix fish sauce, sugar, and lime juice into soup and simmer until heated through, about 10 minutes more.
• Heat 1/2 cup oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; fry Thai chile peppers until browned, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer chile peppers to soup, reserving oil in skillet. Fry quartered shallots and bok choy in hot oil until browned, 2 to 4 minutes; transfer to soup and reserve oil in skillet.
• Place noodles in a large bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside until noodles are softened, about 15 minutes. Drain and rinse thoroughly. Add 3/4 of the noodles to the soup. Fry the remaining rice noodles in the hot oil until crisp, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Divide soup among 6 bowls and top with fried noodles, pickled cabbage, cilantro, and lime wedges.

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.

TOM YUM KAI

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Add lemon grass, galangal, and kaffir leaves. Cook for 1 minute. Add fish sauce and cook for 1 minute. Add chile paste and reduce heat to medium. Add tomatoes and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Increase heat to high and add chicken. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add lime juice and stir.
• Add chiles to soup and remove from heat.

LEA'S TOM KA KAI SOUP

Steps:

• In medium to large saucepan, bring to boil ALL ingredients EXCEPT garlic, red chili, ginger root, cilantro, chicken, and half and half cream.
• Meanwhile, chop the remaining ingredients (except chicken and half and half cream) finely in chopping machine, then add this to the pot.
• Chop and boil the chicken pieces in the soup for around 5 minutes or until fully cooked.
• Add the half-and-half cream to the soup and stir constantly to avoid curdling for around three minutes.
• Remove lemon grass root upon serving, or tell victims to remove before eating the soup!
• Serve soup warm or hot.
• NOTE: fish sauce, oyster sauce, Tom Yum paste may be purchased at a Thai or Chinese market. Also, sometimes your local store will carry these items.

COCONUT MILK SOUP WITH CHICKEN (GAI DOM KHA)

Steps:

• Wash and trim root ends of lemon grass. Peel off tough layers and slice bottom 6 inches thinly. Discard rest of the lemon grass. Chop one tablespoon.
• With a food processor running add chopped lemon grass, 1 tablespoon sliced ginger, the garlic, peppercorns and coriander roots and shallots and process to rough paste.
• Bring 1 cup of the coconut milk to a boil and add lemon grass mixture. Keep stirring, reduce heat and add chicken, the remaining coconut milk and the remaining ginger and lemon grass. Return mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is tender, about 3 minutes longer.
• Add chilies, fish sauce and lime juice to soup.
• Decorate with lime leaves and coriander sprigs and serve.