Thom Yum (Chicken)

I was given a copy of Chef McDang's terrific book on Thai cookery (http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Thai-Cookery-Chef-McDang/dp/6169060107) by Chef David Gilbert . Combine that with the arrival of my Satay grill (ordered from here http://importfood.com/satay_grill.html ) and a Thai feast was in order. Of course it was all experimental, so we weren't sure how any of it was going to turn out. We invited the neighbors (Guinea and Pig) over for the experiment. It turns out that the most impressive dish on the menu was the simplest. It took 7 minutes start to finish and used minimal ingredients This recipe is almost straight from Chef McDang's Principles of Thai Cookery, but I substituted chicken for the prawns - since I can't eat shellfish.

Ingredients

6 cups water
1 stalk lemon grass - cut into short strips and bruised
5 kaffir lime leaves (preferably fresh)
3 silver dollar sized slices of galanga (sometimes called blue ginger)
4 bruised Thai chilis (left whole, but with the stalks removed)
1/4 cup fish sauce
Juice of 3 Persian limes (or 6 Key limes)
1 chicken breast cut into 1/2" cubes (slightly smaller is better)

Method

Bring the water to the boil. Add the lemon grass, kaffir lime, galanga, chilis and leave to infuse for a minute or so. Add the fish sauce and then the lime juice until the desired degree of sourness is achieved. Simmer for a few more seconds. Add the chicken pieces and turn the heat off. Allow the heat of the broth to cook the chicken. To serve, spoon into small, hot bowls. Garnish with a sprig of cilantro.