Tom Ka Gai

I made tortilla soup for us and chicken noodle soup for the kids the other night and wanted a way to use more of the stock afterwards.  I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and gave it a try tonight.

Ingredients:
3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken meat (I used the leftover roasted chicken, but this would be excellent with shrimp, scallops, mussels, or chunks of a mild white fish.)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 (14 ounce) cans coconut milk
2 cups water or chicken stock
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 tablespoons fish sauce or soy sauce (or combination)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
1) If using raw chicken, cut chicken into thin strips and saute in oil for 2 to 3 minutes until the chicken turns white.  (Skip this step if using seafood.)
2) In a pot, bring coconut milk and water or stock to a boil.  Reduce heat.  Add ginger, lemongrass, fish sauce or soy sauce, lime juice, and cayenne pepper.  Add the chicken and simmer until the chicken is done, 10 to 15 minutes.  If using seafood, simmer soup for 5 minutes, then add seafood and simmer an additional 5 to 10 minutes or just until seafood is cooked.  Add sugar in small amounts to taste - it really brightens the flavor of the soup.
3) Serve over cooked rice.  Sprinkle with scallions and fresh cilantro and serve steaming hot.

This is extremely easy to make and really good!  The flavor is fantastic, with just enough spice to really warm you up from the inside.  Mike liked his with slivers of fresh garlic on top, too.  We ate it with sugar snap peas and leftover garlic cheese bread and were stuffed afterwards.  I will definitely do this one again!