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This soup is by far my favourite: light but rich, simple to prepare but very complex in flavour and aromas. The secret lies in the fragrances you put in, which you eventually strain and throw away, just enough to give the coconut milk the Thai cuisine flavours. Those who love Thai food will easily recognise that this is the beloved Tom Kha soup. The base of Tom Kha is galangal, a close relative of ginger, but to make the recipe even simpler I used ginger, and the taste is similar to the original version. Ginger also offers anti-inflammatory properties and is especially good for the stomach or for when you have nausea. If you don’t want to use fish sauce you can replace Tamari for a strictly vegetarian recipe, but this is one of those times that I make an exception because just the fish sauce taste very specific to the recipe. Try to find all the ingredients, because the more you remove ingredients, the more the soup loses its character! Recipe creds: My new roots
Ingredients (for 2 people)
– 1 can of coconut milk
– A handful of fresh coriander
– 3 lemongrass stalks
– 3 spring onions
– ½ tsp of chili flakes (or a fresh chili pepper)
– 25gr of ginger
– 1 spoon of coconut sugar
– 6 leaves of kefir lime
– 2 cloves of garlic
– 2 limes
– 1 spoon of fish sauce (optional)
– 1 handful of mushrooms
Preparation
Cut the onions, ginger, lemongrass, chili and garlic into very small pieces. Tap them lightly with a pestle, just enough for them to release their fragrances and some juice. Remove the coriander leaves from the stalk and set them aside.
Put coconut milk, coriander, lemongrass, onions, garlic, peanut, ginger, kefir leaves and coconut sugar in an average size pot. Boil on very low heat for about 15 minutes.
Drain the soup and throw its remains away. Put the flavoured coconut milk in another pot. Add the chopped mushrooms and fish sauce and boil for another 5 minutes, adding some water if you want to make it thinner. Personally, I prefer it creamy, so I only add half a cup of water. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.