It was Sunday afternoon. A perfect, glorious spring day. Zoe and I were still in our pajamas sitting on the couch comfortably watching a 2-hour broadcast of talks given by our church’s leaders – apostles and prophet. Its an absolute highlight of the year for us because this only happens every 6 months!

The sky was crystal blue and the room was illuminated by the glare of the sun. The warmth felt welcoming. As I set down my pen from taking notes, I turned my attention away from the television screen and  looked outside of the large glass windows to admire the beautiful scenery outside. The fluffy white clouds looked like cotton pillows swimming across a very blue sky. It was a breathtaking sight – one that you can only see once a while in Hong Kong.

The outside was undisturbed, serene and empty. Quiet. Everyone was enjoying the broadcast indoors with their families today. Today was such a beautiful day and I was in such a happy mood. I suddenly felt a wave of emotion hit me. It is truly incredible to know that every single day can be filled with happiness and hope because of my belief in Jesus Christ. At that moment, I just felt so grateful knowing He loves me and He created this gorgeous, beautiful earth for me.

Sitting down to enjoy this sweet refreshing coconut soup as I sat there admiring the breathtaking scenery outside was incredible. My sister and I just sipped this soup, one of the most amazing soups in the world, in silence as we recalled the talks at that day. It was so comforting and just hit the spot to wind down this beautiful, peaceful day!

A peaceful, uneventful days perfect accompanied by a gorgeous coconut soup to go along with it just makes it even more perfect. Thank goodness for beautiful weekends like this 🙂

Tom Kha Gai or Thai Coconut soup is a very traditional Thai dish that is served in almost every restaurant. This is simple, easy, flavorful and satisfying. Since being in college, I have found myself craving Thai food – the wonderful pungent Southeast Asian flavors I had grew up eating.

I stumbled across this recipe whilst surfing the blog one night. I was blown away by the gorgeous photography. From that point onwards, we made sure we stocked up on our Thai sauces and spices so that  we could make it. But for reason I had forgotten about it. The lime juice,lemon grass, fish sauce, shrimp paste sat in the corner of our fridge for awhile forgotten. It wasn’t until I accidentally starting playing around on google and found it again. It was like opening a gift. I was so excited. Just staring at the pictures made me feel so hungry!

You have got to try this tasty soup. Classy. Elegant. Perfect.

Tom Kha Gai (GF, Paleo, Oil-Free)

 

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Adapted from xlbcr

Author: Unconventional Cooks

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 2 chicken thighs, fat trimmed off
• ½ tbsp pureed ginger
• 6 kaffir lime leaves
• 2 stalks lemongrass, cut into slices (only white part)
• 6 small red chilis
• 5 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes
• ½ cup carrots, sliced (we used small baby carrots)
• handful of spinach
• ⅛-1/4 white onion, sliced
• 3 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp GF Fish sauce
• ½ cup coconut milk
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1.5 cups of chicken stock
• ½ tbsp shrimp paste (optional, you can add chili oil/dried shrimp instead)
• Garnish: fresh coriander, chili, black pepper, lime wedges

Instructions

1. Chop your shiitake mushrooms in half .
2. Heat a nonstick skillet over med-high. Let the pan get really hot!
3. Add in your chicken thighs and sear both sides till you get a nice golden brown color.
4. Immediately add in your coconut milk, lemongrass and ginger. Stir and reduce heat to med-low. Cover and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add in your chicken stock, fish sauce, whole chili, honey and mix well.
6. Add in your carrots and onions. Allow it to cook for 5 minutes.
7. Add mushrooms and kaffir lime leaves to the pan.
8. Season with shrimp paste and lime juice.
9. Sprinkle in your spinach. Allow it to cook through for about 2 minutes.
10. Take off of heat and sprinkle fresh coriander.

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