Thigh food
This post is dedicated to my dear sister, Lisa, who once thought that Thai food was pronounced “Thigh food.” I love you, Lisa!
I lament all those years that I missed out on eating Thai food. All those years devoid of cilantro, lemongrass, galangal, chilies and coconut milk while I ate bland, colorless meals seasoned only with salt and ketchup. Ahhh, how divinely Thai food now rests in that Top Five Best Cuisine file in my mind’s eye.
One of my foodie heroes, Ruth Reichl, once described an incredible encounter with this soup by explaining how it created an explosion of flavor in her mouth and she also found herself choking on a tiny piece of food! My experience with Tom Kha soup wasn’t quite as dramatic, but, let me warn you, those chili peppers will catch up with you! The lemongrass sneaks up on you too, although in a much more pleasant way, but those chili peppers are the silent assassins. I ate one chili pepper, last night, that was so powerful I could feel my inner ear tingling. So far Tom Kha soup has been the best sinus reliever I have ever experienced. Now let’s talk about taste…
Now, clearly, I have a problem because the Tom Kha soup that I had at Thai Chili in Sunnyvale is permanently fixed on my taste buds and I see no end to the craving in sight. I’ll have to stroll into that restaurant again and sit with bated breath while I await another fantastic spoonful of that flavorful, lemony concoction. The first spoonful smelled faintly of lemon and then a burst of coconut, fish broth and a light creaminess gave way to chilis, cilantro, that subtle hint of lemongrass and galangal (also known as Thai ginger). Watch out, Thai Chili, I may haunt your dining room with visions of Tom Kha dancing in my eyes!
Thai, Thai food, lemongrass, galangal, chili pepper, Tom Kha
March 9th, 2007 at 1:18 am
Hi Jenny
If you like Thai food give this website a try
http://www.thaifoodtonight.com/thaifoodtonight/recipes.htm
Online Thai cooking videos