Prep: 20 min
Cook: 20 min

Serves 4

This light, fragrant, creamy tom kha gai includes aromatics such as lemon grass and galangal or ginger that flavour the soup and are not meant to be eaten.

1 mild red chilli
4cm knob galangal or ginger
2 lemon grass stalks
200g button mushrooms, trimmed
400ml coconut milk
1 litre light chicken stock
2 shallots, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 chicken breasts, skinned
2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
Handful coriander leaves

METHOD

Deseed the chilli and finely julienne lengthwise. Peel and finely slice the galangal or ginger. Bash the lemon grass and cut each stalk in half. Trim the mushrooms and cut in half (slice if large). In a saucepan, heat the coconut milk, chicken stock, chilli, galangal, lemon grass, shallots and sugar to a gentle simmer. Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise, then finely slice against the grain. Add the chicken, mushrooms and fish sauce to the stock and simmer for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked and tender. Add the lime juice and taste for salt (fish sauce or sea salt), heat (chilli) and sweetness (sugar). Serve in warm bowls and scatter with loads of coriander leaves.

Times Recommends

• How to season a wok
• Chicago Rib Shack hits back at its critics
• Gordon Ramsay: Indian barbecue