A Blue Star

Ingredients

• 5 lbs oxtail, cut in 2 inch thick rounds
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cajun seasoning
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup port wine
• 1 large Spanish onion, diced
• 1 large carrot
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 3 italian frying bell pepper, cut into large pieces
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 (10 ounce) can whole tomato
• 1/2 can chipotle chile in adobo
• 1 cup sherry wine
• 3 bay leaf
• 1 bunch thyme, chopped
• salt
• pepper

Directions

1. Coat oxtail pieces with the flour and Cajun seasoning, and sear them in 3 tablespoons oil and remove from the pan.
2. Then degrease the pan and deglaze with port and reserve for later use.
3. In a separate pot caramelize the onions, carrot, celery and peppers, then deglaze with the red wine.
4. Add the oxtails to the vegetables.
5. Continue by adding in the tomatoes, chipotle, sherry, bay leaves and thyme and simmer for approximately 3 hours.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Source: http://www.recipezaar.com/27422

This is a mild but spicy chicken soup (it can also be made with shrimp, pork, beef or mushrooms), flavored with the very unique flavor of galangal (”kha” in Thai) which creates a heavenly taste when combined with hot chile peppers, coconut milk, lime leaves and lemongrass.

Ingredients

• 16 fluid ounces soup broth (chicken stock)
• 4-5 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
• 4 or 5 2 inch pieces fresh lemongrass, bruised to release flavor
• 1 inch cube (or a bit more) galangal sliced thinly.
• 4 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 4 oz chicken breast cut into smallish bite sized pieces
• 5 fluid ounces coconut milk
• small red Thai chile peppers, slightly crushed (to taste)
• coriander (cilantro) leaves to garnish.

Note the number of red peppers is a personal choice. It can be as few as half a chilli per diner, to as many as 8-10 per diner, but the dish should retain a balance of flavors and not be overwhelmend by the chili peppers. We suggest about 8-12 chili peppers for this recipe.

Method

Heat the stock, add the lime leaves, lemongrass, galangal, fish sauce, and lime juice. Stir thoroughly, bring to a boil, and add the chicken and coconut milk, then the chile peppers. Bring back to the boil, lower the heat to keep it simmering and cook for about 2 minutes (until the chicken is cooked through). Enjoy!

Not really intended to be eaten as a separate course, we like it served ladled over a bowl of steamed Thai jasmine rice. This quantity serves 4 with other food, but is probably only enough for two if eaten separately.

If you would like to have a decent-tasting tom kha without spending the time to prepare above, we also suggest you try our convenient Tom Ka Paste (click to see description).