Dom Yam Gai

Name: Dom Yam Gai
Yield: makes 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 quart coconut milk, homemade (page 584) or canned; 1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade (page 160); 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh, cut into 1-inch strips; 3 lemongrass stalks, trimmed, smashed, and cut into 2-inch lengths (page 143); 10 nickel-sized slices of fresh ginger; 2 fresh chiles, preferably Thai, stemmed, seeded, and minced, or hot red pepper flakes to taste; 4 lime leaves, preferably fresh, roughly chopped; 1 cup sliced button mushrooms or drained canned straw mushrooms; 3 tablespoons nam pla; 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice; 1 teaspoon sugar; Salt and black pepper to taste; 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, optional

December 14, 2011

The subtle blend of sweet, creamy, and sharp flavors in this Thai classic makes it one of the first Thai dishes most people learn to love. Although the best version I ever had began with cracking real coconuts—a chore I wouldn’t wish on an enemy—if you make coconut milk from dried coconut or use canned coconut milk, the dish is easy to re-create at home and really great. For information on Thai fish sauce (nam pla), see page 500.

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