Kaeng Som Kai Wan
(Sweet and Sour Chicken Soup)
This is a variant of kaeng som, which is a popular fish soup that is quite common in Thailand. Keang som is quite sour, and this dish has been given a degree of sweetness in keeping with making it from chicken.
This dish can be eaten as a soup course, but as I have remarked before in Thailand soups are normally eaten with the other dishes of the dinner, rather than before them. Therefore you should use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken and serve it in individual bowls to the diners, the soup liquor is then placed in a large serving bowl, from where they can help themselves (you can use a fire pot or fondue cooker to keep it hot if you wish).
If you can't find krachai (lesser ginger) then use ordinary ginger.
Ingredients
- About 1 1/2 pound chicken, skinned, filleted, and cut into bite-size pieces.
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon ginger, freshly ground
- 3 tablespoons chopped garlic
- 3 tablespoons chopped shallots
- 3 tablespoons krachai (lesser ginger), thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons mixed red and green prik chi fa (jalapenos), thinly sliced or julienned
- 1 teaspoon kapi (shrimp paste)
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 1/4 cup tamarind juice
- 1 to 2 tablespoons palm sugar (to taste)
- 2 cups very coarsely chopped green vegetables
- 1 cup pineapple chunks (preferably fresh, not tinned)
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken and then add three tablespoons of sesame oil and one tablespoon of freshly ground ginger, mix, and leave to marinade or one hour.
- Heat a wok, and then stir fry the chicken in the marinade until it just starts to change color.
- Heat the stock to simmering point, and add all the ingredients except the chicken and pineapple, and return it to the boil.
- Add the chicken, and the marinade and simmer until the chicken is cooked through.
- Add the pineapple, bring to the boil and then serve.
This can also be prepared as a stir fry still dish (whence it becomes pad som kai wan) by simply omitting the chicken stock. (If it is a little dry, then add a couple of tablespoons of stock to the wok.)
Posted by WingsFan91 at Recipe Goldmine 11/14/2001 7:09 pm.
Special thanks to - Muoi Khuntilanont.
