Put That Lemongrass in Some Spicy-Sweet-Sour Thai Soup

There was still lemongrass at the pickup this morning, and we’d already gotten some last week as well. I know there is a Thai restaurant on the east side called Lemongrass, so I figured Thai food was the thing to make to use some of this interesting stuff. I found a recipe for Tom Ka Gai (Thai Chicken Soup) and adapted it a bit to use some other produce I had on hand from the farm. It was quite tasty, and so I thought I’d share my “souped-up” soup recipe. Note that you can use turkey in place of chicken, so this might also come in handy after the Thanksgiving feast next week if you have any leftovers.

Tom Ka Gai
4-6 cups good quality chicken stock (or make your own turkey stock from bones)
1-2 cups cooked chicken or turkey
2 stalks lemongrass
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated, or 1 tsp. powdered ginger
1-2 fresh chile peppers (depending on size and how hot you want it), seeded and chopped
1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 celeraic root, peeled and chopped
1 can coconut milk
1 tsp. brown sugar
1-2 Tbsps. lime juice
1-2 Tbsps. Thai fish sauce (bottled and available at most grocery stores)
Handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped (or substitute dried basil)
Ground black pepper
Thai noodles

Slice and mince the lemongrass roots; discard the brown stalks but keep the green stalks and cut into about 6” pieces. Put the chicken stock in a large pot and add the minced lemongrass and the lemongrass stalks. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the cooked chicken, the basil, and the celeriac and continue to simmer another 5 minutes or so until chicken is thoroughly heated.

At this point, fish out the lemongrass stalks and discard them. Add the ginger, bell pepper, chopped chiles, brown sugar, and ½ can coconut milk and simmer for about 4 minutes. At this point, prepare the Thai noodles by placing them in a bowl and pouring boiling water over them to allow them to soften (takes about 5-7 minutes).

Add a tablespoon of lime juice, a tablespoon of fish sauce, and a sprinkling of ground pepper. Taste to see if the balance among salty, sweet, spicy, and sour suits you. If it doesn’t, add more fish sauce for salty, brown sugar for sweet, black pepper for spicy, or lime juice for sour. Add more coconut milk if you want it creamier. When the balance suits you, drain the noodles and place in the bottom of soup bowls, then ladle the soup over the noodles. Makes about 4 to 5 servings.