Thai
Kalanka Coconut Soup
Ingredients -- Vegetarian with optional meat
Kalanka is a woody/bark spice that looks a bit
like ginger, has a somewhat acerbic smell and taste.
Traditionally the Thai slice it into extremely thin
medallions, slivers or wedges. These can be removed
from the dish after cooking, like Bay leaves. I prefer
it to be grated and eaten along with the ginger.
This is just a list of ingredients and a procedure.
You will adjust the ratios and quantities to your taste.
- Kalanka spice, sliced / slivered / or grated.
- Fresh Ginger root, sliced / slivered / or
grated.
- If meat is desired, cubed chicken.
- Slivered Carrots
- Straw Mushrooms
- Wood-Ear Mushrooms
- Sliced & seeded Thai Hot Peppers (this is
perhaps a Thai equivalent to Serrano peppers?)
- diced Green Onion
- Coconut Water or Coconut Milk
- An Equal Amount of water or soup stock, as you
used coconut milk. You cold use vegetable broth, or
chicken broth if you're not going vegetarian.
- Seasonings to taste: Coconut sugar,
Cilantro, Garlic, Black pepper, Lime (Keffir Lime leaves for
seasoning; and/or, fresh lime juice)
After slicing everything, put Coconut milk into a
nonstick pot and heat to boiling. Sear most of the
ingredients for several minutes in the boiling coconut milk
until the chicken comes close to being cooked. Withhold
only the sugar and lime.
Dilute the coconut milk (and stuff) with an equal amount of
water or broth to prevent the soup from being too rich.
As a final step, adjust the seasonings to taste by adding a
small amount of coconut sugar and a larger amount of lime, and
then adjust other spices such as cilantro and garlic.
Consider adding black pepper etc.