Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai)

(from Far East Café: The Best of Casual Asian Dining by Joyce Jue, page 70)

This is our favorite soup and very spicy.

8 kaffir lime leaves or the zest of 1 regular lime
2 cans (13 ½ fl oz each) coconut milk
2 cups (16 fl oz) chicken stock
6 fresh or 4 dried galangal slices, each about 1 inch in diameter
4 lemongrass stalks, cut into 2-inch lengths and crushed
4 small green chili peppers, halved
1 Tbs Thai roasted chili paste (nam prik pao)
1 whole chicken breast, boned, skinned and cut into ½ inch cubes
½ cup (2 ½ oz) drained, canned whole straw mushrooms
½ cup (2 ½ oz) drained, canned sliced bamboo shoots
¼ cup (2 fl oz) Thai fish sauce
Juice of 2 limes (about 6 Tbs)
¼ cup fresh cilantro (fresh coriander) leaves

1.Place 4 of the lime leaves or half of the zest in a large saucepan. Add the coconut milk, chicken stock, galangal, lemongrass and chilies. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean saucepan. Discard the contents of the sieve.
2.Bring the strained stock to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium so that it boils gently. Add the remaining 4 kaffir lime leaves or the remaining half of the zest, roasted chili paste, chicken, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and fish sauce. Boil gently until the chicken is cooked throughout, about 3 minutes.
3.Sitr in the lime juice and cilantro leaves. Ladle into warmed soup bowls and serve hot.

Serves 6 - 8