He was tall and handsome, and spoke softly with a German accent. He had an exotic look about him, and I later learned that his mother was German and father was Chinese. I felt a commonality since I too, was mixed; born to South American, Jewish parents.
Stanley Wong recruited me before my graduation at The Culinary Institute of America for the opening of Jean George’s Spice Market restaurant in NYC, where he would be the Executive Chef. I was young, eager, with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge – and I think Chef Stanley saw that in me. I will be forever grateful to him for advancing me on an incredible culinary journey.
At the time, I was not keeping kosher the way I do now (as a “pescatarian”/vegetarian outside of the home) I did keep the basics; no pork/shellfish and no mixing meat and dairy. I did however, taste everything.
At Spice Market restaurant, it was where I first tasted fish sauce – or Nam Pla (In Thai). Without a doubt, it is stinky; but do not let that deter you from this awesome ingredient!
In Thai or Vietnamese cuisines, it is essentially their “salt and pepper”. You may be hesitant to add it to your cooking, but it adds such a dimension to the food, and cannot really be replaced. Think of it like a delicious Caesar dressing that has anchovy paste, which has that special something. Can you make Caesar dressing without it? Sure – but it just won’t taste the same.
The stinky aroma comes from the fermentation process. It is usually made with a mixture of salt and anchovies, but some are made from other types of fish; and even squid is used. It is fermented between 1 year to 18 months. The result is a rich, deep umami flavor that really enhances the dish.
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I decided to try a simplified (kosher) version of the delicious chicken coconut soup that we served there. Tom Kha Gai usually has some type of mushrooms included, but I left them out for my hubby who is not a fan. Some key ingredients can be found on amazon if you are not near a Asian grocery, for convenience, or if you would like to support The Kosher Tomato blog!
Lemongrass
Kaffir Lime leaves
Galangal
Dried Thai Chiles
Chili Oil
Tamarind paste
Coconut Milk
You can speed up the process but putting the minced ingredients in the food processor. Then, think of it like this:
fry aromatics (ginger, garlic, scallion, etc)
add liquids to deglaze
add chicken and coconut milk (your base)
add more aromatics and cook until all flavors have melded together
Adjust seasonings and garnish
- 2 teaspoons ginger, minced
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1 scallion, minced
- 1/2 shallot, minced
- 1/4 cup chili oil (toast approx 1/4 cup of the dried chiles in a dry hot pan, to release oils. Blend with a neutral oil {enough to cover chilis} in a food processor until smooth, and oil has turned red) or, just buy it!
- 1/4 Tamarind water (use warm water to soften tamarind paste)
- 1/8 cup red boat fish sauce
- 1 pound chicken breast, diced
- 2 cans, coconut milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 lemongrass, bruised/pounded with the back of your chef’s knife and cut into 3 inch pieces
- 3 inch piece galangal, sliced
- 4 kaffir lime leaves (crushed in your hand to release oils) and extra for garnish
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (and for garnish)
- 1/4 cup lime juice ( or more to adjust seasonings
- In a medium soup pot, fry the aromatics (ginger, garlic, scallion, shallot) until golden and fragrant.
- Add a small amount of chili oil to start and combine well. Next, add tamarind water, fish sauce and sugar and cook on low until sugar has disolved.
- Add diced chicken, coconut milk, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, cilantro and 1 tablespoon lime juice to start with.
- Allow to simmer on low for 30 minutes and check seasoning. Adjust seasonings with more chili oil, (spicy) lime juice (sour) sugar – if needed (sweet) and salt or fish sauce (salty) until you have reached desired balance of all tastes.
- You can strain the large pieces of lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves if you wish, though not necessary.
I have a question about using the Red Boat Fish Sauce. Even though it is kosher, there would still be the issue of mixing the fish with chicken which is against Kashrus. Am I missing something?
Hi Harriet, you are correct. For some, there is the minhag (custom) of not mixing meat/poultry and fish. While I do not observe this custom personally – you can definitely make this with vegetables, fish or even tofu for a delicious alternative!