tom kha

tom kha Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

So I thought I would make a bunch of corn chowder to put away in the freezer, and managed instead to improvise a tom kha soup full of corn and other vegetables, that is just as good as the puréed version I set out to make.

• 1 shallot
• 3 scallions, green tops and white stalks chopped separately
• lots of ginger
• 2–3 cloves garlic
• a stalk or two of lemongrass
• 4 ears of corn
• 2 roma tomatoes
• handful of mushrooms
• 3 small potatoes
• 1 jalapeño, sliced
• about 5 cups of chicken stock
• coconut milk (I used a small can, but a large one would be fine)

Cut the corn from the cob and simmer the cobs in chicken stock with lemongrass. Meanwhile, sauté the shallot, white part of scallions, ginger, garlic until soft. Add the scallion and mushroom and sweat until soft and gooey. Add potatoes, jalapeño, and tomato and some salt. Strain the corn-lemongrass chicken stock and simmer until potatoes are soft. Add the corn and coconut milk, and warm through. Serve with lime juice and fish sauce.