Thai Chicken Stock
The base stock for the two most well-known Thai soups in the world, Tom Yum (spicy and sour) and Tom Kha Gai (coconut chicken soup). Making it from scratch versus using a store-bought stock makes all the difference: you'll taste more layers of flavor and deeper savoriness. It can also be a delicious stand-alone soup, but you'll need to add a little salt or fish sauce to finish it.
🍽️ Makes 2
Ingredients
| 1 | chicken carcass or whole chicken cut into 8 pieces |
| — | cold water, to cover |
| 8 cups (1.9 L) | water |
| 3" (8 cm) piece | thinly sliced galangal |
| 2 stalks | lemongrass, thick lower portion only, pounded |
| 2-3 | kaffir lime leaves |
| 2 cloves | garlic, peeled |
| 1 | large shallot, peeled and sliced |
| 2 | Thai chilies, pounded with the knife |
Instructions
- Place a cut-up whole chicken or boned carcass in an 8-quart (7.6-L) stockpot and cover with cold water. Bring the bones to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the bones and rinse and wash under running cold water until the sediment and scum have washed away. Dump out the cooking liquid from the pot and give it a quick rinse.
- Return the chicken carcass to the pot and cover with 8 cups (1.9 L) of fresh water. Bring the stock to a full rolling boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer.
- Add the galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, garlic cloves, shallots and chilies to the pot and allow to simmer. Skim off the foam and fat often, and continue to simmer for about 1 1/2 hours.
- Skim off any additional fat and strain the stock through a cheesecloth-lined sieve. If not using this stock immediately, you can hold it for about a week in the fridge or freeze it for 6 months.