The other day I made this Thai-scented coconut rice, which was delicious- but I was hesitant to share the recipe because it requires a bunch of odd Thai ingredients that you probably don't have on hand. So why did I have them on hand? Well, I love Tom Kha- Thai soup with chicken and coconut milk- so I keep some of the stuff in my freezer. That way, I don't have to go to a specialty Thai market when I want to make the soup. Or, apparently, this rice.



The only 2 things that can be a little tough to get around here are kaffir lime leaves and galangal (which sort of looks like a smooth-skinned ginger root.) Both can be frozen successfully. I cut the galangal into 1/2 inch pieces and freeze them in a ziploc because once frozen it's hard to cut. The lime leaves are usually sold in a ziploc so you're good to go. If you don't use ginger very often, you can store chunks in the freezer as well.

You can get lemongrass, sambal olek (spicy red sauce) and fish sauce in many regular supermarkets and all Asian markets now so that's no problem- and the sambal and fish sauce will last about a hundred years in your fridge. You can click here for handy list of markets with Thai ingredients in the Bay Area- I go to Hwa Lei on 16th and Mission.


Thai-Scented Coconut Rice
I like this with brown jasmine rice because it adds texture and interest. You could use white jasmine rice, but check to make sure the liquid amount and cooking time is correct according to the package. Also, I garnished this with sambal olek and black salt because it looked cool, but don't go out and buy black salt just for this occasion, because that would be sillly. You could also chop cilantro and garnish with that.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup jasmine brown rice (or white jasmine rice)
  
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 kaffir lime leaf
• ½ inch piece galangal
• ½ inch piece ginger
• 1 inch piece lemongrass
• 10 peppercorns
• sambal olek for serving
  

Method:

• Put coconut milk in a 2-cup measuring cup and add enough water to make 2 cups. Pour in saucepan.
• Add lime leaf, galangal, ginger, lemongrass, and peppercorns. Heat mixture until it boils.
• Add rice and turn heat as low as possible. Cover tightly and cook (about 20 minutes for regular rice, about 40 minutes for brown rice.) Turn off heat and leave covered for about 5 minutes.
• Remove cover and fish out aromatics (you might not get all the peppercorns… but you can try to avoid them or warn your guests.)
• Garnish with black salt (optional) and/or cilantro (optional) and serve with sambal.

Tom Kha (Thai Coconut Soup)
You can add chicken or shrimp to this, or make it vegetarian with mushroom broth or veggie broth. Sometimes I add red bell peppers, chopped spinach, or other veggies with the mushrooms, to bulk it up.

• 3 cans chicken broth
• 1 can coconut milk (regular- not light)
• 1-2 stalks lemongrass, chopped in large pieces
• 3 kaffir lime leaves
• about 1 inch galangal, chopped into a couple pieces
• about 1 inch ginger, chopped into a couple
• 10-20 peppercorns
• about 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
• sambal olek to taste- a Tablespoon or more
• juice of 1-2 limes
• 1-2 Tblsp fish sauce
• handful chopped cilantro

Method:

• Put broth and coconut milk in a pot and heat over medium heat. Add lemongrass, lime leaves, galangal, ginger, and peppercorns.
• Bring broth to a simmer but don't allow it to boil hard. Cook about 30 minutes to an hour over low heat so aromatics can do their thing. At this point you can turn off the soup and cover it loosely and return to it later, before serving. This will intensify the flavor as the aromatics have longer to steep. (E.G.: Sometimes I do the recipe up to this step around 3 pm for dinner at 7 pm.)
• Using a slotted spoon or mesh spoon, fish out aromatics and discard. Add mushrooms, sambal, lime juice, and 1 Tblsp fish sauce. Cook about 10 minutes at a simmer.
• Stir and taste. If it needs more salt or is boring, add more fish sauce or some salt. If it needs more tang, add lime juice. If it needs more spice, add more sambal olek.
• Turn off heat and stir cilantro in, reserving a little for garnish.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve with extra sambal olek for those who like it spicier.

Notes on adding chicken or shrimp...
For chicken: cut up boneless skinless breasts or thighs in pretty small pieces and add it about 10 minutes before it's done, making sure chicken pieces are cooked through.
For shrimp: throw in small peeled shrimp or larger shrimp, cut in pieces, about 10 minutes before it's done, making sure all shrimp turns pink.