This year for our annual family New Year’s party I made Tom Ka Gai – Thai chicken soup. I was really quite surprised how easy it was to make one of my favorite soups—and it’s dairy and gluten free.

2.5-3 quarts organic chicken broth, simmer 30 minutes
Add 1 cup Thai coconut milk
2 Tb fish sauce
4 bulbs of lemongrass stalks, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup of galangal, peeled and coarsely chopped
10 kaffir lime leaves
1/3 cup poblano chile (1 chile), coarsely chopped (peeled)
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and add
1 organic, free-range chicken breast halved lengthwise
Allow to simmer 15 minutes (until chicken is cooked), then remove the chicken and add:

3 Tb lime juice
2 Tb sugar or stevia
Season with salt if desired
Now strain the soup into a bowl or pitcher.
Cut the chicken into thin slices.
To serve, pour soup over the chicken and add cilantro, basil leaves, sliced red pepper, white beech or enoki mushrooms, and/or cherry tomatoes (cut in half).

The trickiest part is getting the ingredients, but if you go to an Asian grocery store you’ll find all that you need.