I love food. Making it. Eating it. Thinking about it. All of it. Love it. I especially love soup. It’s the perfect food, really; it transports well, generally heats up better the day after it’s made, and you can put whatever you want into it and it’s usually delicious. My late grandmother, Anna Mae Ball, a 4’10.5” church lady from West Virginia, always talked about wanting to open a soup kitchen before she passed away in 2011 but never had the opportunity to do so. I guess my memories of Grandma are probably why I love soup so much.
There used to be a restaurant in Cool Springs, a neighborhood on the edge of Franklin and Brentwood, TN, called Basil that had some of the best soup I had ever tasted. I could remember it being slightly tart, somewhat sweet, but super savory with chunks of mushrooms, chicken, and green onions. While dating my children’s father, I was really excited to take him there only to find out that once we pulled into the parking lot the restaurant had closed. I had never had anything like it again and couldn’t remember what it was called, so I just kind of grieved a little. But I got over it and life went on.
Relocating to a different part of Middle Tennessee after getting married allowed us to experience different culinary options! We love sushi and decided to give Lemongrass, the Thai restaurant near our house, a try. Much to my excitement, there was a soup on the menu that sounded very similar to the one that I had tasted oh so long ago on the other side of town. The description on the menu read, “Coconut milk soup with lime juice, kaffir leaves, lemon grass, and mushrooms” and it only cost $4.00! When I put that tiny little Asian spoon made of porcelain with a little pool of that Heavenly concoction in my mouth, my taste buds exploded with joy! I couldn’t believe what I was tasting! It was even better than the version at the other restaurant. It had little mushrooms floating in a broth of coconut milk, Asian spices, and chicken, and the flavors were refreshing and exotic.
After finally rediscovering the soul mate to my taste buds, I had to learn everything I could about the soup. It’s called Tom Kha Gai, a staple dish in Thailand. It is fragrant and healthy and somewhat simple as long as you can locate all of the ingredients. Tom Kha Gai translates to chicken soup with galangal, a root that is hard to find but might be available at a local international market. When all of the ingredients combine, the result is fire. So so remarkable!
We probably order takeout from Lemongrass Sushi & Thai two or three times a month and always ask for a side of rice, which kind of makes the dish seem more like a curry than a soup. A fear that I have is that we would move too far away to enjoy it or that the restaurant may close so I took it upon myself to scour Pinterest for a possible recipe that I could try and recreate in my own kitchen. After two different attempts, I’m pretty sure that the Tom Kha Gai soup from Lemongrass is a product of witchcraft or at least a culinary miracle.
My baby daddy and I like what I tried to come up with, but it is just not quite the same. It’s close. Not bad, but just not the same. It lacks the different flavor dimensions and notes of citrus, root, and spice that the restaurant version presents. Soup warms the body and soul, and I could probably eat it daily if I had to. There are certainly several other varieties of soup that I enjoy, but nothing so far as much as the delicious Tom Kha Gai.