When you live in a place for awhile, you get attached to its restaurants.
Mr. Making Life Sweet and I fell in love with several restaurants during our two years living in Minneapolis. There was W.A. Frost with its unique, seasonally inspired menu; Red Cow with its juicy lamb and bison burgers; India Cafe with its creamy chicken saag; Pizzeria Lola with its perfect gluten-free pizza crust; the bakery I worked at, Salty Tart, with its addicting coconut macaroons (otherwise known as CRACK-a-roons). The list goes on and on.
There’s one place I didn’t include in the list above, and it was our favorite Thai place — a tiny, off-the-beaten-path, family-owned restaurant with the best spring rolls, pad pak and tom kha gai I’ve ever enjoyed. Since we’ve moved to Des Moines, we have yet to find a Thai place as good as Taste of Thaiyai in Apple Valley, Minn. And so, I’ve made it my personal goal to remake some of those beloved Thai dishes at home.
I’ll have a recipe for pad pak later this month, but for now let’s start with this fragrant Tom Kha Gai recipe. Tom Kha Gai is the Thai version of Coconut Chicken Soup. It’s not only rich in flavor but also packed with nutrients and anti-inflammatory herbs like ginger and lemongrass.
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- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons Thai red chili paste
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound chicken breasts, cut into thin strips (easier to cut if partially frozen)
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 3 bay leaves
- 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into 4 chunks
- 3 stalks lemongrass
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 14 oz. can quality coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce (optional)
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- Juice of 2 limes
- 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- Heat coconut oil in a large stockpot over medium high heat. Add red chili paste and minced garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken and sauté until partially cooked, about 4 minutes.
- Add chicken stock, bay leaves, ginger, lemongrass, basil and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in coconut milk, fish sauce, coconut sugar, lime juice, mushrooms, and red bell pepper. Simmer 1-2 minutes until bell peppers are tender but still crisp.
- To serve, remove lemongrass stalks, bay leaves and ginger chunks. If desired, add cilantro, salt, pepper, lemon juice and Sriracha to taste.
This soup is absolutely gorgeous, Lauren! I’ve never made a thai soup before, but I need to after seeing this dish. I love the pretty color and flavor. What a perfect bowl of comfort food!
Sounds so flavorful Lauren! I’m always up for adding a new soup recipe to my repertoire, and this one sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing!
So true, you do fall in love with some restaurants where you reside… if you are lucky enough to live in a place with good ones, that is. There are a few restaurants I miss back in Orlando, one of them is a high end sushi restaurant, and unfortunately I’ll never have access to the quality of fish they served… so no recreation for this girl. Sad. Anyways, a great Thai place is hard to come by and I love that you re-created their Tom Gha Gai! That soup was one of my favorite dishes I learned in culinary school, cuisines across cultures class! I can’t WAIT to try yours, Lauren! It looks super flavorful and absolutely cozy! Pinned! Cheers, my dear! xoxo
This recipe sounds awesome! I love how you remade one of your favorite dishes yourself!
Thanks so much, Shelby! What’s your favorite restaurant dish to make at home?
Lauren, the restaurants you mentioned are all on my list of faves, too! And this soup… it looks absolutely amazing! Just what our Midwest winter weather calls for. I can’t wait to try it! Thanks for sharing!
looks like an interesting combination of tastes…and warm for those of us who’ve had a lot of cold days recently
Oh totally! It’s 10 degrees outside currently and you can bet I’m staying inside and making this for lunch or dinner today.
well! You are a package of amazingness ! I am embarrassed to claim that I’m sort of a food blogger but old enough not be hardly ever be genuinely embarrassed ! Ha! Your soup looks amazing. I will try and make it. I ‘m blogging a kale pozole tomorrow – i’m not as amazed with kale as some of my younger (a lot younger) friends are, but hey, I had some so in it went.
I am a follower, sort of, of recipes, so I will definitely learn LOTS from you. I write mainly on food for the soul and God is good to lead me that way. Wish we were neighbors. We would be quite a team.
I’ve been told to submit to magazines but lots has held me back.
I’d rather speak than write. I’m speaking on contentment in a world of more near SF on tuesday (are you close??(:)
sue d in CA
Thanks Sue! You’ll have to let me know what you think of this soup if you end up making it! Nice to meet a kindred spirit who writes about similar things! 😀
I don’t usually go for “exotic” foods, but you’re inspiring me! Great photos, too! Love the color and texture.
PS just subscribed – will be happy to promote you on twitter, insta, fb
PPS our family self-published a Moore Family cookbook for our parents 70th Wedding Anniversay – a fun idea for you…
So nice to meet you Sue! Thanks so much for supporting this blog!! Have a wonderful weekend.
Oh this looks incredible!! I am just so in love with soups right now…all soups! I have got to add this to my “must make” list!
Thanks so much, Annie! I think I could eat soup for both lunch and dinner until springtime and be happy. Haha. LMK if you end up making this! 🙂
Another lovely and scrumptious dish! Thanks again for sharing this on #SHINEbloghop 🙂
I’ve made Tom Yum before but have yet to try Tom Kha Gai. It sounds very similar in flavor. I’ll have to try your recipe!
Tom Yum has more of a sweet and sour vibe to it, where I feel like Tom Kha Gai is a bit creamier and delicate in flavor. 🙂
How many servings would you guess this is? 4 or 6? Looks delish!
Great question! Sorry, this should have been attached to the recipe info. I will do that now. I would say it feeds four very hungry people, but can definitely feed up to six. Just depends!
I love learning about the Minneapolis restaurants in this post! I would love to visit there one day! This Thai coconut soup looks seriously amazzzzing 🙂
You should totally visit the Twin Cities sometime! I would recommend the summer, of course. Haha. It really is a special, beautiful place — and full of good food! LMK if you end up going and I can tell you other fun stuff to check out. 😉
Yum Lauren! I love Thai food, it is probably my favorite cuisine. And I am always so sad when I have to leave behind my favorite Thai restaurant! Luckily we recently found a really good one in our new town. I’m sure you will find a good one in Des Moines, but in the meantime I am so impressed with this soup! I could eat this every day. Pinning!
So glad you found a good Thai place in your new town! I am holding out hope for finding one here (although I browsed the menus of all the places online and NONE of them serve Pad Pak so I’ll definitely be honing in on making that at home lol). I am so glad you like the soup! Let me know if you end up making it. 🙂
That soup looks so delicious! I also love making Thai soups and curries at home…they’re almost effortless with a good curry paste on hand 🙂 If you can get your hands on some kaffir lime leaves, they’re the BEST….so aromatic and a leaf or two make such a difference.
Oh, my mouth is watering! Pinning this to my soup board!!!
This sounds totally tasty! I love Thai food a ton and will have to make this soup for my hubby! <3
Lauren! Ive been following your blog now for some time but have never commented…..I absolutely love Thai food and although I don’t eat meat, Ill definitely be creating this recipe next week with some mock chicken!
Hi Lucie! What a delight! It’s so nice to meet you. 🙂 I look forward to getting to know more about you through both our blogs! Thanks for commenting. Although I do eat it from time to time, I’m not a huge meat eater (a lot of my recipes are plant-based!) and I can tell you this soup is amazing with pan fried or baked tofu. Let me know what you think! Have a lovely day!
Oooh this looks so delicious! Pinned.
One of my favorites when we eat out! The creaminess of the broth and flavors are the best! Pinning this so I can find it to make! YUM!
The best receipt for Tom Ga Kai soup. Every time I make it my family is very happy and eats all up. Thank you for this superb recipe
I really miss galanga and kaffir leaves in this recipe.