Thai Turmeric Chicken Soup (Gai Tom Kamin)
Comforting and light Thai chicken soup with aromas of traditional Thai herbs - lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime leaves and of course, turmeric! Throw everything into the pot and let it go - so easy! Serve on its own or with jasmine rice. Gluten free.
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 40 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1.5 lb (700g) chicken drumettes (see note)
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 small heads shallots, roughly chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 stalks lemongrass, bottom half only, smashed and cut into 2 inch sections
- 7-8 thin rounds of galangal
- 5 makrut lime leaves, roughly torn and center stems removed
- 7-8 slices turmeric root (sliced on a diagonal so you get bigger slices)
- Fresh Thai chilies, crushed, to taste and/or ground white pepper
- Salt, to taste
- 2 Tbsp Thai tamarind paste (a.k.a tamarind concentrate, store bought or homemade; you can also substitute lime juice)
- Fresh chopped cilantro or green onion for garnish
- Jasmine rice for serving, optional
Instructions
- 1
Toss the chicken wings in fish sauce and sugar and let them marinate ideally for at least 20 minutes, but don't stress if you didn't plan ahead.
- 2
Add the chicken and all of the marinade to a pot and add just enough water to cover the chicken by about 1 inch. Add the shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime leaves, and turmeric; bring to a simmer.
- 3
Simmer the chicken gently over low heat, loosely covered, for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is fork tender.
- 4
Once the chicken is tender, add the tamarind paste, and then taste and add salt to adjust seasoning to taste. If you plan on serving this with rice, make sure you make the seasoning a bit stronger. If you want it spicy, crush some Thai chilies and stir into the soup, or add some ground white pepper for more subtle heat.
- 5
Ladle into a bowl and top with chopped cilantro or green onions. Serve on its own or with jasmine rice, enjoy!
- 6
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