North-eastern Thai Clear Chicken & Herb Soup - Gaeng Om Gai

North-eastern Thai Clear Chicken & Herb Soup - Gaeng Om Gai

from tastythais.com
15 min
4 servings

This simple north-eastern Thai soup is not made with chili paste, has no coconut milk but is rather a simple clear soup that is flavored with dill and other Thai herbs with the main ingredients being vegetables and simple meat such as teh chicken we are using in this recipe.

Ingredients

  • 3 Chicken Thighs (Bone Out)
  • 1 bunch Fresh Dill Weed (Cut into sprigs)
  • ½ Small Cabbage (sliced)
  • 2 Jinda Chili (Traditionally much more chili is used to make the soup much hotter )
  • 1 tbsp Roasted Rice Powder
  • 1 tsp Chicken Seasoning Powder (Knorr chicken seasoning or similar)
  • 4 cloves Garlic (Crushed)
  • 3 Shallots (Medium crushed)
  • 3 Slices Fresh Turmeric (optional) (Sliced and then crushed)
  • 2 Slices Galangal ((Optional))
  • 2 Lemongrass Sticks (Sliced)
  • 2 Kaffir Lime Leaves
  • 1 cup Holy Basil Leaves
  • 3 Spring Onions (Cut into sections)
  • 1½ pints Light Chicken Stock (Fresh or Chicken Stock cube)
  • ½ tsp Salt (Traditionally fermented fish seasoning is used instead)
  • 2 tsp Brown Sugar (But Traditionally North-Eastern Thai cooking has very little sugar)

Directions

  1. 1

    Chop the dill weed, spring onions and cabbage into sections an inch or two long.

  2. 2

    Slice the galangal (if using), lemongrass and turmeric into medium thickness slices.

  3. 3

    Peel and crush the garlic, shallots, sliced turmeric, and chili.

  4. 4

    Remove the center stems of the kaffir lime leaves and spearate into halves. Detatch the basil leaves from their stems.

  5. 5

    Slice into the chicken thighs and remove the bones. If you prefer you can remove the chicken skin or you can leave it on. Cut the chicken meat into slices for quicker cooking.

  6. 6

    Add the chicken stock into your saucepan or wok. If using a stock cube then just drop it in the water.

  7. 7

    Turn on the heat and add the prepared garlic, chili, shallots, lemongrass, turmeric, and galangal to the warmiing stock.

  8. 8

    Bring to the boil and then add in the sliced chicken and stir it all up.

  9. 9

    Add in the thicker parts of the sliced cabbage and spring onion leaves with the bulb sections attached first (as they takes longer to cook). Also add the chicken seasoning powder, roasted rice powder, salt, and brown sugar and taste test.

  10. 10

    When happy with the taste add the dill, basil leaves, remaining spring onions, remaining tender cabbage leaves, and kaffir lime leaf. Serve.