Day 7 TOM KHA SOUP!

My oh my its cold outside! Soup sounded good today, Tom Kha soup in fact. Here is how we make ours. It is a cream soup with lots of fresh veggies in it. It has a vegetable stock base at our house but you could also make it with chicken stock or other flavorful broth.

TOM KHA SOUP

You will need

• 8 cups of vegetable broth
• 2 6 inch pieces of Lemon grass
• 6 Kaffir Lime Leaves
• 1 inch piece Galangal
• 2 cups broccoli
• 2 cups thin sliced carrots
• 1 cup onions
• 1 can full fat Coconut Milk (BPA free can lining is always a plus!)
• You can throw in other veggies too green beans, sugar snap peas, asparagus, cabbage leaves, spinach,
• 1 Package GF rice noodles (optional)
• Lime Juice, bean sprouts, basil leaves, and/or peppers (if you are on phase 3 or tolerate them well), to garnish  (optional)



Those green leaves are Kaffir Lime Leaves, the shrimp looking things is the galangal and the green onion looking pieces is lemon grass.

 

You will also need for preparation

• a soup pot (6-8 quart size would be good you might be able to fudge it in a small pan and make your stock in one pot and steam your veggies in another and mix them in your bowl instead)
• a ladle
• cutting board
• sharp knife
• colander

1. You will start by preparing your lemongrass cut off any dark brown yucky look pieces and cut it into manageable 3 inch pieces. Taking the BLUNT back edge of your knife hold the handle and whack the lemon grass to bruise it. then add the bruised pieces to the bottom of your soup pot.
2. Bruise the lime leaves by squeezing it in your hand or pressing it to the bottom of the pot with your ladle. Place in soup pot.
3. Peel and chop the galangal into chunks small but big enough to be caught in the holes of your colander. Place in soup pot.
4. Now pour your vegetable stock into the pot and bring it to a boil.
   
5. Once it comes to a boil bring it down to a simmer and simmer for 20 mins.
6. Turn off the pot and let it sit for two hours to intensify the flavors. This step is optional but really bring out the flavors. If you want to steep it longer like we sometimes do place it in the fridge and let it sit there until you are ready for it.

   

   After it has simmered for a while the leaves darken, the lemon grass browns and your house smells amazing!

7. Strain out the lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, and galangal and store those in your freezer to use again if they are still fragrant.
8. Bring you stock back up to a boil and toss in the veggies you would like to use. You can add as many or as little veggies as you would like. It is typically a more brothy soup but we add quite a few veggies to ours.
9. Add in the can of coconut milk and stir.
10. While the veggies are heating if you are using the rice noodles prepare them now according to the package instructions. Add these to the individual bowls. This will allow you to store any leftover broth and veggies without the noodles swelling and getting mushy.
    
11. Serve hot and garnish if you want. It is good with and without the garnish. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Yummy Noodles!

We have made versions of this soup for about two years. We like to make some and keep it in the fridge for quick lunches and dinners. For my son we pureed it in a blender when he was younger and still do sometimes.