Tom Kha Gai (Thai Chicken Coconut Soup)

This is a dish that I love to eat at my local Thai restaurant and in fact, Thai cuisine is good for the Arthritis diet as it encorporates some of the 'essential' ingredients such as fish, nuts, green vegetables and ginger. 

The key to this recipe is to get the right balance between the spices, Thai cuisine traditionally consists of spicy, salty, sweet and sour. You can adapt this recipe to suit your tastes but you should be able to taste all of the flavour elements.

There are other versions of this soup made with seafood (tom kha thale), mushrooms (tom kha het) and tofu (tom kha taohu).

Serves 2

 

Ingredients:

1/2-1 can coconut milk

600ml chicken stock (or 600ml water with a chicken stock cube)

3 tbsp red curry paste

1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, sliced

1 chicken breast

1 tbsp tomato paste/puree

5 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced (optional)

1 small bunch chopped fresh coriander

1 ½ tablespoons lime juice

1tsp fish sauce

1 tablespoons brown sugar or palm sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 150C/300F (gas 2). Bring coconut milk and stock to a boil, add thinly sliced ginger, coriander, sugar and red curry paste to the broth and simmer on medium for 10-15 minutes.

Place the chicken breast on a tray and cook in the oven for 12-15 minutes. Remove when cooked through and leave to rest for a few minutes. Slice the chicken thinly and add to the broth. Turn the heat off and add the fish sauce and lime juice.

Check for seasoning and taste. It should be spicy, sweet, sour, salty and creamy all at the same time! Every version is different so adjust it according to your taste, you may want to add more sugar or curry paste. Serve hot, either by itself or poured over rice or noodles.

- Emma