Thai Chicken Stock
This recipe is the base stock for the two most well-known Thai soups in the world: Shrimp Tom Yum Soup (Tom Yum Goong) and Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai). If you don’t feel like making stock from scratch, you can short-cut this method by adding the aromatics to boxed chicken stock or chicken bone broth. It’s also a good all-purpose stock for other dishes like Street-Style Basil Pork (Krapow Moo Sap).
Ingredients
- MAKES: 2 QUARTS 1.9 L
- 1 chicken carcass or a whole chicken cut into 8 pieces
- 8 cups 1.9 L water
- 3- inch 8-cm piece galanga, skin on and thinly sliced
- 2 stalks lemongrass tough outer leaves discarded, sliced thinly on the bias
- 2 –3 kaffir lime leaves
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 large shallot peeled and sliced
- 2 fresh Thai chilies split to expose the seeds
Instructions
- Place the chicken carcass or pieces in an 8-quart (7.
- 5-L) stock pot and cover with cold water.
- Bring the water to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove the carcass or pieces and rinse under cold running water until the sediment and scum have washed away.
- Dump out the cooking liquid from the pot and give it a quick rinse.
- Return the chicken to the pot and cover with 8 cups (1.
- 9 L) of fresh water.
- Bring the stock to a full rolling boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer.
- Add the galanga, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, garlic, shallot and chilies to the pot and allow to simmer.
- Skim off any foam and fat often, and continue to simmer for about 1½ hours.
- Skim off any additional fat and strain the stock through a cheesecloth-lined sieve.
- If not using this stock immediately, you can hold it in the fridge for about a week, or in the freezer for 6 months.