Saturday in our happy household was spent entertaining Rainer’s colleague Wolfram and his wife, Wibke. I was cooking up a storm and was rather pleased with how most of the dishes turned out (the beef and cauliflower was kind of bland – I need to modify this recipe). We started off with Tom Kha Gai, my favorite soup. Rainer is not a big fan of coconut milk and prefers Tom Yum Goong, but as I am not able to stomach seafood at the moment (I seriously hope this goes away once the baby is here), we had the Tom Kha.
Tom Kha Gai (Chicken coconut soup)
ingredients
3 cups chicken broth
8 large slices unpeeled Siamese ginger (galanga or kha) or regular ginger
1 large stalk lemon grass, tough outer leaves removed and cut into 2-inch pieces
12 (6 pairs) fresh Kaffir lime leaves (bai magroot)
2 cans (14 ounces each) unsweetened coconut milk
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
4-6 tablespoons chili paste in soybean oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
Sliced chilies, if desired
Sprigs of cilantro
Sliced green onions
directions
1. Put the broth, ginger, and lemon grass in a soup pot. Tear up Kaffir lime leaves and add to the pot. Gradually bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 1 minute.
2. Stir in coconut milk, and return to a boil. Stir in the chicken and return to a boil. Stir in the chili paste, lemon juice, sugar, and fish sauce. Stir until the chili paste and sugar are dissolved and blended. Add the mushrooms and simmer just until tender, about 1 minute.
3. Ladle the soup into a soup tureen, or individual serving bowls. Sprinkle sliced chilies, a couple sprigs of cilantro, and green onion over each serving. The ginger slices, lemon grass, and Kaffir leaves are only for flavor and should not be eaten.
Son-in-law Eggs
Our second course consisted of the aforementioned beef and cauliflower stir-fry, and my first ever try at Son-in-law Eggs, which when translated into German, Schwiegersohneier, does not sound quite as delectable as they were! We all had a little chuckle about this (for the German-impaired, click here for the translation).
Despite the unfortunate translation, these turned out incredibly. I will be making them a lot, and I encourage all you folks out there to give the recipe a try as well. You shant be disappointed!
ingredients
Vegetable oil for deep frying + 3 tablespoons
3/4 pound chicken breast, finely chopped or use ground chicken
1/2 cup tamarind pulp soaked in 1 cup of warm water (or 1 cup liquid tamarind concentrate)
4 tablespoons chicken broth
7 tablespoons palm sugar (or light brown sugar)
2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
1 green onion, finely sliced
1/4 cup thinly sliced garlic
3/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
8 hard-boiled eggs
6 small chilies, finely sliced (for less spicy version, remove seeds from chilies before slicing)
Cilantro (coriander) sprigs
directions
1. Strain the tamarind pulp and save the juice. Set a wok over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add 3 tablespoons of oil. Add the chicken and stir-fry until it begins to brown. Add the tamarind juice (or concentrate) and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, sugar and fish sauce and stir-fry for 1 minute. Taste sauce and make any adjustments desired. Stir in the green onion, cover and remove from heat.
2. Set a wok over medium heat. Add enough oil to deep fry the eggs, and bring to 360°F (180°C). Fry the garlic until golden brown, about 1 minute. Remove with wire skimmer to drain on paper towels. Fry the shallots until crispy and brown, about 2 minutes. Remove with wire skimmer to drain on paper towels. Add 2-5 eggs, one at a time (depending on how many will fit comfortably in your wok, do not overcrowd the eggs). Cook until golden brown on all sides, about 7-8 minutes, turning eggs occasionally with wooden chopsticks or metal tongs. Remove with wire skimmer to drain on paper towels. Continue until all eggs are deep-fried.
3. Carefully cut the eggs in half, cleaning the knife between slices. Place egg halves yolk side up on serving platter. Spoon the chicken mixture around and, if desired, over the eggs. Sprinkle the fried garlic, shallots, sliced chilies, and a few sprigs of cilantro over the top. Serve warm or at room temperature.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
oh my! i just had breakfast, but seeing these pictures, i could stomach some of these. that does look very delicious!
When I clicked to get your recipes (which I’m determined to try once I figure out where to buy fish sauce in Dresden) I also found my way to your poetry. It’s really, really good Christina. I especially loved In The Dark and On The Trip Of My Sketch.
I have great admiration for people who do poetry well. It’s all too easy to come off clichéd and shallow (I know because that’s pretty much how mine reads — which is why I gave it up long ago), but you’re an honest poet with great, non-cheesy metaphors. And if you know me at all, you know I’m normally not this effusive… which just goes to show how impressed I am. You should think about publishing.
Hi Chrsitina,
)! That is really cool that you have your website with your recipes on it.
How are you ?
Wow; you really did a beautiful meal.I admit to never have tasting hai food in Hawaii, but it looks so yummy
I think that my husband won’t mind eating Thai !
You take care and see you again soon.
@rita: Thanks!
@Eurotrippen: Thanks so much, B! I go through phases where I think about publishing. I’ll buy the latest Poet’s Market and choose a magazine to submit to, write out my submission letter, etc, and then I chicken out and forget about it for a couple years. And I’m always impressed with people who write fiction. I couldn’t write interesting fiction to save my life. My short stories blow. Btw, fish sauce should be available at any Asian market, buy a brand imported from Thailand if possible.
@Barbara: I can’t believe you haven’t had Thai food before! It’s so yummy! Get ye to a Thai restaurant or an Asian market and start cooking!
That looks incredible! Mmmmmm….
@lisa: Thanks!
Dear Christina,
many greetings from Rostock to Bavaria.
I enjoy very much reading your blog and we recently tried your recipe of
Gaeng Juet Galam Bplee Moo Sap and it was delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
S.
@S: Glad you liked the soup! Is this Sabine? If so, I’ve been meaning to write you but I’m a really (really) bad penpal. Take care!
Hi Christina,
yes, this is Sabine from Rostock. Don’t worry, I also transformed into a very lazy mail/email writer but I am a constant blog reader ;0)
Take care and my very best greetings also to Rainer!
Sabine
@Sabine: Greetings back from all of us! Glad to hear from you!