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).
1chicken carcass or a whole chicken cut into 8 pieces
8cups1.9 L water
3-inch8-cm piece galanga, skin on and thinly sliced
2stalks lemongrasstough outer leaves discarded, sliced thinly on the bias
2–3 kaffir lime leaves
2clovesgarlicpeeled
1largeshallotpeeled and sliced
2fresh Thai chiliessplit to expose the seeds
Instructies
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.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
Pro Tip:
The “Thai trinity” of herbs—lemongrass, lime leaves and galanga—can be frozen if you’re not going to use them immediately, or if you have unused extras from making a batch of stock. You can also buy them in dry form online.