Tom Kha Gai

This sounds damn good. I myself haven't tried this recipe yet (I am also intimadated by Asian recipes becuase I'm afraid I'm gonna muck them up), but I got it from Andrew Zimmerman's  (the Bizzare Foods dude on Travel Channel) Blog so I am pretty sure its gonna taste damn good.

Serves 6

Ingredients

3 cups rich chicken broth

1 golf-ball-sized piece of galangal (Siamese ginger) or conventional ginger root

1 large stalk lemon grass, trimmed and sliced thin.

2 Kaffir lime leaves

2 cans (14 oz. each) unsweetened coconut milk

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced thin

2 tbs. chili-tamarind paste (nam phrik pao) available in Asian markets

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2-1/2 tbs. golden brown sugar

2-1/2 tbs. fish sauce

1/2 lb. straw mushrooms (canned is fine) or fresh oyster mushrooms -- or both!

5 small Thai red chilies, sliced in half lengthwise

Cilantro leaf for garnish

Directions

Bring the stock, lime leaves, lemon grass, sugar, galangal and chili paste to a boil in small pot.

Add the coconut milk and bring to a simmer.

Add the chicken and mushrooms and bring to a simmer, quickly stir in the lime juice and fish sauce. Float the chilies on the soup and serve, garnishing with cilantro sprigs.

I serve this dish with sticky rice on the side and a quick salad of chilies, vinegar, sugar, onion and cucumber.

The Rice

3 cups Thai sticky rice

Soak rice overnight in enough of a volume of water to cover the rice by 4 inches.

Drain well and place in a conical straw steaming basket for sticky rice, or in a damp muslin lined sieve set over a pot of boiling water.

Cover the rice with a damp cloth, and do not let the bottom of the sieve touch the water.

Steam for 25 minutes and let rice rest for 10 minutes.

Turn rice out into a bowl and immediately cover with a warm, damp cloth.

Serve.

http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Bizarre_Foods/Special_Features/ci....