Chicken and Galangal Soup

The first part of the Thai name, tom ka, simply means “boiled galangal” while gai is the Thai word for chicken. Although the meat most commonly used in this soup is chicken, tom ka can also be made with fish, shellfish and other poultry, but the somewhat delicate flavour doesn’t hold up well against beef or pork.

As with several other Thai dishes, your main challenge here, aside from the herbs and spices, will be the straw mushrooms. Even in Bangkok, they seem to be disappearing from the markets in favor of sturdier ‘foreign’ varieties. For the photo, I had to resort to canned mushrooms, which better approximate the taste and texture that other types of fresh ones.

Ingredients

Preparation Method

• Combine coconut milk, Kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and galangal in a pot and bring to a boil.
• Add chicken pieces and mushrooms, and return the mixture to a boil.
• Add remaining ingredients: Chicken stock, fish sauce, lime juice, white pepper and roasted chili sauce.
• Pour into serving bowl and garnish with a few leaves of coriander.

A bushel of fresh galangal in the market.

In the fresh markets such as the Muang Mai wholesale area in Chiang Mai, the baskets of galangal stand out, due to their white roots which will often have the pinkish stalks of the plants still jutting straight up from the tuber. Most market vendors leave the stems on the root. Although the stems are pink where they emerge from the tuber, they transition to green where the stalk breaks through the earth into the sun. The texture of galangal is harder and more woody than ginger. In taste, it has a pungent spiciness that is quite unique. The taste can change, becoming more pungent as the root ages.

The name "galangal" is apparently an Arab corruption of the Chinese word for ginger. Arab traders introduced the spice to Europe around the ninth century. In Thai, galangal is called ka. Some English language recipe books also refer to it as "Laos".

According to contemporary research, galangal contains high concentrations of a powerful antioxidant flavonol dubbed galangin that is capable of modulating enzyme activities and suppressing the genotoxicity of chemicals. The research concluded that galangin is a promising candidate for chemo-prevention of abnormal growths.

Traditional medicine, both eastern and western, uses galangal to relieve gas, indigestion and stomach pain. Like ginger, it may be useful in treating seasickness. One recent study found it to be nearly as effective as nitroglycerin for certain types of heart problems.