Coconut Milk Soup with Chicken (Gai Dom Kha)

• 2 stalks lemon grass
• 3 tablespoons sliced Siamese ginger
• 4 cloves garlic, cut up
• 3 peppercorns
• 7 coriander roots, cut up
• 23 shallots
• 4 cups medium-thick coconut milk (see recipe)
• 1 pound sliced white meat chicken
• 5 red chilies, seeded and finely minced (prik khee nu)
• 4 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)
• 4 tablespoons lime juice
• 5 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded
• 3 sprigs coriander, chopped

1. Wash and trim root ends of lemon grass.
2. Peel off tough layers and slice bottom 6 inches thinly.
3. Discard rest of the lemon grass.
4. Chop one tablespoon.
5. With a food processor running add chopped lemon grass, 1 tablespoon sliced ginger, the garlic, peppercorns and coriander roots and shallots and process to rough paste.
6. Bring 1 cup of the coconut milk to a boil and add lemon grass mixture.
7. Keep stirring, reduce heat and add chicken, the remaining coconut milk and the remaining ginger and lemon grass.
8. Return mixture to a boil.
9. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is tender, about 3 minutes longer.
10. Add chilies, fish sauce and lime juice to soup.
11. Decorate with lime leaves and coriander sprigs and serve.

lemon grass, sliced siamese ginger, garlic, peppercorns, coriander roots, shallots, coconut milk, white meat chicken, red chilies, fish sauce, lime juice, lime, coriander

Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1951 (may not work)