Tom Kha Gai

How to make it

1. Rinse the jasmine rice in a bowl of cold water, then pour off the water. Repeat until the water runs almost clear, so the loose starch is gone and the grains won't stick together.
2. Put the rinsed rice in a pot with 6 dl water and the salt — the rice needs to be salted here, since it won't get any other seasoning. Bring to a boil over high heat, until the water bubbles vigorously around the grains.
3. Cover with a lid, turn the heat all the way down and cook the rice for 12 minutes, until the water has been absorbed and small steam holes appear on the surface. ⏱ 10 min · passive
4. Take the pot off the heat and let the rice steam under the lid for 10 minutes, so the grains become firm and separate instead of wet. ⏱ 10 min · passive
   Chef's tip Lifting the lid early releases the steam that's still redistributing moisture, leaving wet grains at the bottom and dry ones on top. Leave it sealed the full 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork rather than a spoon.
5. Cut the galangal into thin slices, and bruise the lemongrass stalks along their whole length with the back of a knife, until they split and release their fragrance. Then cut the lemongrass into 3 cm diagonal pieces, and tear the kaffir lime leaves in half. The herbs only release their oils once they're bruised and torn, so they shouldn't just be added whole.
   Chef's tip Galangal is fibrous and pungent, not gingery — slice it thin across the grain so more surface meets the broth. Lemongrass should smell sharply lemony the moment you crush it; if it doesn't, the stalk is too dry to give much.
6. Pour the coconut milk and chicken stock into a pot, and warm it slowly over medium-low heat. It should steam and just barely bubble at the edge, never boil hard — otherwise the coconut fat separates into yellow beads of oil.
   Chef's tip Coconut milk only holds together below boiling, around 85 degrees, where steam rises and the bubbles just ring the edge. If yellow beads of fat gather on the surface, the heat is too high — take the pot off for a moment and stir it back together.
7. Add the galangal, lemongrass and torn lime leaves to the steaming coconut broth, and let it simmer gently for 10 minutes. It's ready when it smells sharply of citrus and pepper, and the liquid has taken on a distinct yellowish tint from the herbs. ⏱ 10 min · passive
8. Add the thinly sliced chicken thighs to the soup one slice at a time, so they don't clump together. Keep the heat just below a boil and let the meat simmer for 6 minutes, until the slices are white and cooked through with no pink in the middle.
   Chef's tip If the soup comes to a boil, the meat fibers contract hard and squeeze out their moisture, leaving the thin slices stringy. The surface should only tremble faintly — the slices are done as soon as they're just barely opaque all the way through.
9. Press the bird's eye chilies flat with the side of the knife, so they release their heat without falling apart, and stir them in along with the straw mushrooms. Let them simmer for 3 minutes, until the mushrooms are heated through and have sunk below the surface.
   Chef's tip Crushing splits the chili wall so capsaicin seeps into the broth gradually; whole chilies stay mild, chopped ones make it fierce and uneven. Three minutes in, taste the broth — that's your last chance to fish some out.
10. Take the pot completely off the heat, and season the soup with fish sauce, palm sugar and finally the lime juice. The lime juice needs to go in after the heat, because it turns bitter and causes the coconut milk to separate if it cooks along. The soup should hit salty, tangy and lightly sweet all at once, with the chili heat trailing behind.
    Chef's tip Fish sauce, palm sugar and lime pull against each other, so season in that order and taste between each. If the soup tastes harshly salty, a little more sugar usually rounds it faster than more lime.
11. Ladle the hot soup into deep bowls, making sure each bowl gets both chicken and mushrooms. Sprinkle the coarsely chopped cilantro over the top. Set the steamed rice on the table in a bowl, so each diner spoons rice onto their own plate and eats it alongside the soup. The galangal, lemongrass and lime leaves are left in the soup — they get pushed to the edge of the bowl and aren't eaten.