You may have read a little bit about my love of Thai food in my Thai Peanut Slaw post. But seriously, it’s a love that will never end.

Nothing beats a nice bowl of tom kha on a cold day. If you’re not familiar with tom kha, it’s a coconut milk based soup with veggies, lemongrass, and sometimes with added tofu, chicken or shrimp. The finishing touch is the chili oil that gives it a nice kick at the end.

 

Well, there’s a problem with that… I love my soups (that aren’t blended) to have noodles in them. I blame Campbell’s soup for this! But in a good way because they remind me of my childhood. With that in mind, I’ve decided to create a tom kha noodle soup. This is the beauty of tom kha tossed with delicious noodles!

The hardest part of making this dish was deciding what noodles I wanted to use. The classic rice noodles, flat noodles, glass noodles, or maybe some more dense udon noodles. So many noodles! Thankfully “noodles” a fun word.

Anyhoo… I actually decided to go with fresh egg noodles. They have great consistency and hold up really well with a coconut based sauce. Not to mention that I love the flavor.

You’ll notice that I like to have all sorts of textures in my dishes. There’s mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and carrots. The main reason I like to have different textures is that it gives more depth to the dish. Everyone focuses on how good the flavor is, which is definitely important but don’t forget to mix up the textures in there. Although, I have to admit. There is an easier way to make this… Many international or Asian grocery stores carry pre-packaged spice mixes or pastes. And there’s one for tom kha and all you need to do is add coconut milk and veggies. I wanted to make this from scratch since it’s a simple recipe as it is.

One of my new favorite things to do is go to our local Indo-China Market and browse the aisles for new things to try. I rarely walk out empty-handed. Also, the people there are nice, happy to answer questions, give advice, etc. I’ll tell you later about my roti experience later…

Now don’t be afraid to add ingredients or go crazy with the chili oil to really give it some lovin! Just keep tasting and adding as you like. I made this more mild, then the hubby and I bring it up to our levels of spiciness. I’d rather not burn out your taste buds… I’ll leave that to you!

Tom Kha Noodles

Yields: 4 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 large Lemongrass stalk
• ½ sweet yellow onion
• 2 Tbsp. ginger, grated
• 1/4 cup Lime juice
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 cans coconut milk, full fat
• 2 tsp. Agave or coconut sugar
• 1 C. Mushrooms, sliced
• 2-3 tablespoon Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce (nuoc mam or nam pla)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons chili oil, optional
• 1 package of fresh egg noodles, or dried ramen
• ½ cup shredded carrots, plus more for topping
• 1 8 oz can of bamboo shoots
• Salt to taste (this will depend on sodium level of broth and soy sauce)
• Cilantro, limes, more chili oil for topping (optional)

Instructions:

First, bust open the stalks of lemongrass slightly with the handle of a knife or wooden spoon.

In a large soup pot, add the lemongrass, onion, grated ginger, the lime juice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes stirring every few minutes.

Then (carefully) take out the lemongrass. Add the coconut milk, carrots, bamboo shoots, fish sauce, and agave or coconut sugar. Bring back up to a simmer stirring to combine.

Now add the mushrooms and simmer for another 2-3 minutes or until the mushrooms are cooked a bit. Taste and add salt if needed. Then add the egg noodles simmer for another minute, then turn off the heat.

Stir until the noodles are soft, but not too soft. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately with toppings of choice.

Cheers!