Gaeng Om – Lemongrass and dill chicken soup
Gaeng om is something the workers put in the pot after work when they are hungry and need a quick meal. Best served with sticky rice.
Ingredients
For the Paste
- 5 shallots
- 3 chillies long ones
- 1 stalk lemongrass tender inner part of bottom third only
For the Soup
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 chicken breast chopped into 2-inch (5-cm) size pieces
- 4 chicken wings
- 1 chicken carcass broken up
- 1 stalk lemongrass tender inner part of bottom third only, bruised
- 1 chicken stock cubes
- 85 g carrots optional
- 85 g baby corn optional
- 50 g mushrooms sliced, optional
- 2 handfuls fresh dill
- fish sauce or pla rah – fermented Thai anchovies, to taste
- 1 tablespoon rice kernels ground up and roasted (optional)
Instructions
- Pound the Paste ingredients in a mortar until a paste is formed.
- To make the Soup, place the Paste and 1 tablespoon unscented oil in a medium pot and fry until aromatic. Add the chicken breast and wings and mix to coat thoroughly with the Paste.
- Add the chicken bones, lemon- grass, and bouillon cubes to flavour. Add enough water to just cover the contents in the pot.
- Once the Soup is boiling, add the veggies in order from longest to cook to shortest, if using. Add the dill. Add the fish sauce to taste. (If adding pla rah, must make sure the soup is boiling well, or the soup will smell). Boil for around 10 minutes or until all the chicken pieces and veggies (if using) are cooked through. Remove the chicken bones from he pot.
- Before serving, add the roasted rice kernels (if using) to give the soup a roasted smell. You can eat this immediately or heat it up later. If eating later, do not add the rice kernels until ready to serve.
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Note: there is also a Northern Thai version of gaeng om which includes a chilli paste base of dried chillies, galangal, lemongrass, coriander root, coriander seeds, turmeric, garlic, shallots and shrimp paste.
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