Sick Day: Tom Kha Soup

You know those days when you can just feel a cold coming on? When you're not technically sick yet, with just the early warnings of a sore throat or cough? I had one of those days this week and was all set to spend the rest of the week feeling sorry for myself while bemoaning my sickly existence and the unfairness of life. However, then something magical happened: I remembered how delicious and easy this soup is! With its vibrant mix of salty, sweet, and spicy flavors, this soup is my go to for stopping a cold in its tracks. I'll definitely be keeping it in mind as we head into the wet and miserable days of winter here in London... 

Strangely, the only times I've ever had tom kha soup in a restaurant were when I was living in Chennai, India. One of the nicer hotels has a little restaurant which offers a thai/vietnamese buffet where you can create your own version of different soup options. They have several soup bases available (such as tom ka or tom yum) and then a variety of toppings and add-ons, such as mushrooms, chicken, tofu, etc. Suffice to say, I was hooked. Since coming home, I've expiramented with trying to make it myself at home and this seems to be the easiest method. I love how customizable this dish can be since it's entirely up to you how spicy you make it or even what ingredients to include. I went with portobello mushrooms since that's what I had on hand but you could also add in some chicken or noodles if you're in the mood for a spicy twist on that old standby: chicken noodle soup. One thing to note: the coconut milk will continue to thicken the soup as it cooks so you may need to add a bit of water at the end to loosen it up before serving but that is entirely up to your personal preference.

Prep Time: 3 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

900ml chicken stock (or water with chicken bouillon)
1 can coconut milk
1-2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into rounds
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 pieces of fresh lemongrass, smashed and chopped into large pieces
2-3 red chilies
Fish sauce (to taste)
Zest of a lime
2 portobello mushrooms, chopped (or a handful of smaller mushrooms)
Juice of 1-2 limes (to taste)
Fresh coriander

Method:

Bring the chicken stock and coconut milk to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Add in the ginger, garlic, half of the sliced red onion, lemongrass and chilies.

Lower to a simmer and leave to heat through for tenminutes, or until the soup has your preferred level of flavor. Add fish sauce to taste and the lime zest.

Strain the soup through a sieve and return to the pot. Make sure to press the ingredients into the sieve to make sure as much flavor is incorporated into the soup. Bring the strained soup back to a simmer and add the mushrooms and the remaining onion slices. Continue to cook until the mushrooms and onion slices are tender.

To serve, add the fresh coriander and lime juice to taste. Enjoy! 

Cookbook Challenge: Coconut Prawn Curry

This week in the Cookbook Challenge, it's time to get serious about curry. Living in Britain means Indian food makes a fairly frequent appearance on the dinner table since its a national favorite. However, I have to admit that this is often a result of either ordering in or popping out to our local Indian restaurant rather than something homemade. So this week, I set out to rectify this situation! 

Rick Stein's India

by Rick Stein

BBC Books, Ebury Publishing, 2013.

This cookbook is the result of a culinary adventure Rick Stein went on around the entire country of India. The journey was captured in a multi-episode documentary where each episode focused on a different region of the country. I was hooked when the first episode opened in Chennai, which obviously has a very special place in my heart. After watching the program, I hemmed and hawed for a few months before finally cracking and buying the cookbook. 

Due to the fact that we lived in India when I was younger, my mom actually makes a pretty mean curry. Therefore, when I've wanted to host a curry night or just make something tasty for myself, I would turn to her recipe rather than outsourcing to a cookbook or the internet. Since mom's curry is usually focused on chicken, I thought it would be good idea to push my comfort zone a bit by trying out a seafood curry. 

Now, for most people, a dish focused on prawns (or shrimp in America!) wouldn't be exactly pushing the bounds of adventurous eating. However, I am something of a seafood novice in the kitchen. In fact, you may have noticed that seafood is conspicuously absent from this blog... But it's not my fault!  My dad isn't a fan of fish so we didn't eat much of it at home while I was growing up. As a result, I'm slowly trying to get into the habit of having it more often. While I'm keen to try seafood dishes while I'm out at restaurants, I haven't really tried making many at home. So, this recipe will hopefully be the start of something new! 

I have to say, this curry certainly didn't disappoint! I was amazed at how easily it came together. The coconut milk means its a bit on the sweeter side so I think next time I'll probably add a bit more chili to balance that out better. Another change I think I'll make is to add more prawns since they were so tasty! Additionally, I used pre-chopped ginger since it was the only option in my local shop. It was such a great time saver that I'll definitely be repeating this next time! The first time round, I served the curry on its own over simple rice and my taste tester Eurydice gave it her blessing. However, the second time I added some simply sautéed veggies that were also spiced with Indian flavors and felt it was a more complete meal. So, I'm adding the simple recipe for the veggies to this post as well just in case you'd like to recreate the dish below. The only time consuming element of this dish was deveining the prawns so if you can get them already cleaned then you'll be even faster than I was!

Prep Time: 10 - 15 min

Cook Time: 20 - 30 min

Serves: 4

Ingredients: 

2 medium onions, roughly chopped
2 medium onions, finely sliced
2 tablespoons ghee
1 piece of cinnamon
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
250g large peeled raw prawns
1 can of coconut milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
150ml water

Olive oil
1 head of broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1 zucchini, chopped into bite size pieces
1 large onion, sliced
A handful of green beans, sliced in half
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp chili powder

Method:

In a mini food processor, blend the two roughly chopped onions until they form a rough paste. Add a splash of water as needed to make the mix combine and then set aside. Next, heat the ghee in a large pot over medium heat. Add the cinnamon stick and fry for a minute or until fragrant.

Into the pot, add the sliced onions and fry until golden brown. Next add in the garam masala and allow to continue frying for thirty seconds to a minute until it is fragrant.

Add in the onion paste, garlic ginger, turmeric and chili powder and continue to fry until the onion mixture is golden. Stir frequently to avoid burning and add a splash of water if the mixture seems to be sticking to the bottom of the pan.

When the mixture is golden, add in the washed and cleaned prawns and mix through. After a few minutes, add the coconut milk, salt, sugar and water. Bring the curry to a simmer and allow to cook for five minutes or until the liquid has reduced by half and the prawns are cooked through.

To make the Indian spiced veggies, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the broccoli and sauté for a few minutes until it starts to brown. Next add in the zucchini, green beans and onion and continue cooking until softened. When the veggies are ready, add in the garlic and all of the spices. Continue to sauté until the garlic is soft and fragrant, mixing frequently to ensure the spices are well distributed.

Serve along side some simple basmati rice and enjoy!