I mean, who the hell doesn't love Thai food?! Let alone people who actually attempt to make it!? It's one of those cuisines that I always think would be fun to make but stop short of it for lack of funds (sooo many ingredients not commonly found in the pantry) and lack of a reason (tiny apartment not suitable for dinner parties).
Well, J's sister has a great house and a great kitchen, and when we got there, a great big spread of Thai ingredients adorning the counter as she prepared our main dish - Tom Kha Gai soup!!!!!!!!!!! HOT DAMN that's my favorite soup!!!
Like Johnny Depp in Once Upon A Time In Mexico who travels around Mexico ordering the same dish, I order Tom Kha Gai whenever I get the chance and judge the restaurant accordingly. (Unlike Johnny, however, I do not kill the best chef to "maintain the balance" of the country).
Lisa did all the work, but at one point I helped her squeeze limes while she tended to the nearly finished pot of soup. Jamie was drinking beer nearby with Paul and lending a hand as well. That, with the lime juice streaming brightly over my hands and lending it's scent to the whole scene, made me quite happy indeed.
But then we got to EAT. And of course that was even better.
My favorite thing was that she offered us a topping sampler-tray to add extra characteristic and flavor to the soup, drooooool. It reminded me of a Thai version of the bacon, cheese and chive toppings that you get at Pea Soup Anderson's.
Those are sweet, small tomatoes, green onions, parsley, fried onion, sliced chilies and bean sprouts! yes!
The soup was so creamy (one of my criteria for good Tom Kha Gai) and one of the best I've had. She kept saying it was too lime-y and even though it was strong, I rather liked it. I felt like it was invigorating my senses.
My other favorite thing was that she dished our bowls out with scoops of white rice, then topped it with the beloved soup. *Swoon*
Their adorable son Griffin quite loved the rice too. Especially as a hair accessory.
When I emailed her to get the recipe she had these helpful notes to add:
I made 6 servings when you came over. However, I would cut the Kaffir leaves and the lime juice in HALF when you make the recipe. I made the soup again and cut back a little on them, but it could be cut back even more so more of the flavors besides the lime come out. Trader Joe's' has low fat coconut milk if you are interested in that (we're on Weight Watchers, so it helps), but if not, any coconut milk will do, and they are super cheap at the Asian store. I shopped at The Bangluck Market (PS I LOVE Bangluck market!!) on Reseda and Sherman Way. Found everything at a great price ( I even picked up two gigantic soup bowls that i LOVE).
So there you have it folks! And here you have the recipe, enjoy.
You can also visit Lisa's blogs here if you are so inclined!
3 comments:
What a great post! You make me sound like a genius. Here's to more delicious food with he two of you at our house!!
Oh, BTW thanks for not killing me to keep the balance in the Lake Balboa area...
haha! I'm glad you liked it :) You were totally a genius that night. As for more delicious food I'll drink to that!
Post a Comment