Tom Ka Gai

Okay... I know I will get yelled at for calling this soup by the Thai name Tom Ka Gai.  For one, I'm not Thai and I followed no recipe for this soup so... I guess I will need to call it my adaptation of Tom Ka Gai.  Okay?  I am in no way saying that this is the classic Thai soup.  Don't you love when you go to a cooking website for recipes and the comments are all about how the dish is NOT whatever they are calling it? 

Anyway, this soup I made is much like Tom Ka Gai but it has a few added extras which I think compliment the soup very well.   It was VERY tasty.  There is nothing like going to a Thai restaurant, ordering Tom Ka Gai and finding that it tastes like leftover dish water.  Ick.

MY Tom Ka Gai

7 Chicken Breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces and sauted in 1 tbsp of oil
15-20 white button mushrooms
1 can of coconut milk (2 cans are better if you like it extra creamy and with more calories!)
7 cups of chicken broth
1 Tbsp lemongrass
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp Thai green curry paste
1 red bell pepper, diced
30 green beans, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 sprigs of cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Saute chicken in a frying pan, set aside.  Saute mushrooms in olive oil and set aside.  Fill stock pot with chicken broth and coconut milk.  Add lemongrass, fish sauce and curry paste.  Add chicken, mushrooms, red bell pepper and green beans.  Simmer until the pepper and green beans are tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with cilantro.

Mmmm!