Thai-inspired maitake mushroom soup (based on tom kha gai)
A savory, lightly sweet soup featuring maitake mushrooms. Recipe inspired by Thai tom kha gai soup - flavored with lemongrass, lime, and coconut milk.
Servings 6
Ingredients
- 4 cups diced maitake mushroom; weight ~14 ounces
- 2 lbs free-range chicken; we prefer thighs/dark meat for better flavor (*vegetarians or vegans can leave meat out and/or or substitute tofu)
- 1 yellow or white onion, thin sliced (about 2 cups)
- 2 lime fruit (we highly recommend makrut limes if at all possible)
- 2 makrut lime leaves, used for flavoring
- 2 large lemon grass stalks, chopped into sections
- 1 bok choy, chopped
- 1 can organic coconut milk (13.5 fl oz) (*towards the end of cooking, taste to make sure you have enough coconut milk for your tastes - you can always add part of another can if you need more)
- 1 qt chicken stock (or veggie stock)
- 2 garlic cloves, diced
- 2 tbsp organic coconut sugar
- 3 tbsp freshly grated ginger
- 1 tbsp fish sauce (nuoc mam nhi)
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves for garnish
- 1/2 cup red peppers, cut into chopsticks for garnish
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- salt to taste, or not at all if stock is salty enough
- *optional - to serve as a filling, stand-alone meal, add cooked brown rice to each bowl when serving
- *optional, 1 tsp red Thai curry paste (this is typically an ingredient in tom kha gai - we didn't have any on hand so we didn't use it, and our soup turned out great)
Instructions
- Put veggie oil into soup pan over medium low heat (3.5 on our stove). Add thinly sliced quartered onion and chicken to pan. Cook until chicken is lightly browned on both sides and onions are translucent. Add diced maitake mushrooms to pan. Stir and cook for about 6-7 minutes. Mushrooms will "sweat" releasing their water into the pan. Add garlic + grated ginger and cook for another 3-4 minutes, stirring.
- Deglaze pan with chicken or veggie stock. Then add coconut milk, chopped lemongrass stalks (see prep recommendation above recipe), makrut lime leaves, lime juice, coconut sugar, and fish sauce. Turn stove up slightly to medium heat to get a light boil, then turn back down to medium low heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. Add chopped bok choy and spent lime skins and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove lime skins.
- Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro and red pepper strips. If you want to make this dish a full meal, cook a side of whole grain rice and add to soup when serving.