Coconut Lemongrass Chicken Hot and Sour Soup (Tom Khar Gai)

By Mark B

Coconut Lemongrass Chicken Hot and Sour Soup (Tom Khar Gai)

7 steps

Prep:30minCook:45min

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 05:34:58 GMT

Ingredients

4 servings

The brined chicken

0.75 lbchicken thighs

½ Tbspgarlic

¼ Tbspkosher salt

¼ tspwhite pepper

The soup

1 stalklemongrass

dry outer leaves removed and root trimmed

3 cupschicken broth

4kaffir lime leaves

torn

1 inchgalangal

piece, cut into thin coins

2chicken bouillon cubes

2 x 13.5 ozcoconut milk

cans

1 ½ Tbspsugar

1 ½ Tbspfish sauce

1 cupfresh oyster mushrooms

torn into large pieces

4 Tbspchili jam

2 tspchile oil

2 tspbird’s eye chiles

4 Tbsplime juice

1 cupgreen onions

thinly sliced

1 cupcilantro

roughly chopped with stems

Instructions

Brine the chicken

Step 1

Place chicken in a large bowl, plastic storage container, or ziploc bag. Sprinkle on the garlic, lemongrass, salt, and white pepper and add enough cold water to cover.

chicken thighs0.75 lb

garlic½ Tbsp

lemongrass½ Tbsp

kosher salt¼ Tbsp

white pepper¼ tsp

Step 2

Mix until the seasonings are dissolved and let marinate at room temperature for at least 15 mins, up to 30 mins; any longer and the chicken can become too salty. Pour off the liquid and keep the chicken refrigerated until ready to use.

Make the soup

Step 3

Cut the tips off the lemongrass, leaving about 3/4 of the stalk remaining. Wrap it in a paper towel and pound it with a heavy object to bruise, then slice the entire stalk crosswise at an angle into 2-inch lengths.

Paper Towel

lemongrass1 stalk

Step 4

In a large saucepan, bring 3 cups water and the chicken broth to a boil. Add the lemongrass, lime leaves, galangal, and bouillon cubes, stirring until dissolved. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 mins.

Sauce Pan

chicken broth3 cups

lemongrass1 stalk

kaffir lime leaves4

galangal1 inch

chicken bouillon cubes2

Step 5

Stir in the coconut milk, sugar, fish sauce, mushrooms, and chicken and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the mushrooms are soft and the chicken is cooked, 3-4 mins. Remove from the heat.

Sauce Pan

coconut milk13.5 oz

sugar1 ½ Tbsp

fish sauce1 ½ Tbsp

fresh oyster mushrooms1 cup

Step 6

Transfer to a large serving vessel with a ladle. Even though they’re not eaten, we leave in the lemongrass, galangal, and lime leaves at the restaurant. You can strain them out before serving if desired.

Step 7

Into each of the four individual bowls, portion out 1 tbsp chile jam, 0.5 tsp chile oil, 0.5 tsp minced chile, and 1 tbsp lime juice. Have guests ladle the soup into their bowls and garnish with some green onion and cilantro. Stir to combine and consume immediately.