Tom kha gai

Photo: Marion's Kitchen

Twenty minutes, one pot. Coconut milk, galangal, lemongrass, lime leaves, chicken. Sour, salty, a little sweet, a little hot. Marion makes Thai food feel doable.

From Marion Grasby at Marion's Kitchen · @marionskitchen

Chicken poached in coconut milk with galangal, lemongrass and lime leaves, sharpened with lime and fish sauce.

You need

• 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) coconut milk
• 1 stalk lemongrass, sliced
• 2-inch piece galangal, sliced
• 3 makrut lime leaves, torn, stems removed
• 3 bird's eye chiles, roughly chopped
• 10.5 oz (300 g) chicken thigh, bite-size pieces
• 3.5 oz (100 g) mushrooms, sliced or torn
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 2 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 3 stalks cilantro, leaves and stems chopped

How to make it

1. Put the coconut milk, lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves and chiles in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
2. Add the chicken and simmer until just cooked through, about 6 minutes.
3. Add the mushrooms and cook 2 minutes more.
4. Take it off the heat and stir in the lime juice, fish sauce and sugar. Taste: it should be sour, salty and a little sweet. Adjust.
5. Ladle into bowls and top with the cilantro. (The galangal and lemongrass are for flavor, not for eating.)

Written in our own words from Marion Grasby's recipe, with their quantities. The original: Tom kha gai, Marion's Kitchen.

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