Thai Spices Natural Restaurant

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• Nutritional Facts

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Tom Kah Coconut Soup

This rich tom kah coconut milk soup has been a long-standing favorite of Thai Spices’ patrons for years. It gets its unique rich flavor from quintessential Thai ingredients such as lemon grass, galangal root and kaffir lime leaf. It’s a quick and easy soup to make that’s surprisingly satisfying and delicious.

A Healthier Take on Tom Kah Coconut Soup

This healthy version of a traditional Thai dish is prepared using macrobiotic principles. The vegetables are cooked lightly in water instead of oil and balanced herbs are used. This soup can be made vegan, if you prefer it, by using Bragg’s Liquid Amino as your stock base instead of traditional fish sauce.

Important main Thai ingredients for Tom Kah soup.

Most of the ingredients for Tom Kah coconut soup you can find at your local Asian grocer, a health food store or on Amazon.com.

by Master Chef Pearl Pardee

Ingredients

Half a white onion, sliced wide

2 cans coconut milk (not lite)

1 small size carrot, cut in thick matchsticks

5-6 kaffir lime leaves (sliced thin)

2-3 slices galangal root

2 stalks of fresh lemon grass, cut into 1″ pieces

1/2 of a jalapeno pepper cut into medium pieces (or more if you prefer a hotter soup)

(Optional) other sliced vegetables such as broccoli and button mushrooms, cooked chicken pieces or shrimp

2-3 tsp Bragg’s Liquid Amino seasoning or fish sauce or 1-2 tsp sea salt

Small handful of cilantro sprigs

1 green onion, sliced

2 tsp lemon juice

Shown: galangal root, lemongrass, white onion, kaffir lime leaves

Preparation

1. In a separate saucepan add coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, galangal and lemon grass. Simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour or so for taste. (when the broth is ready you can keep the herbs in for next step or dispose of the herbs if you desire)

2. In a separate pan saute the onion, carrot pieces in a small amount of water until they begin to soften.

3. When coconut broth is ready, add the sauteed vegetables

4. Then add optional vegetables and meat.

5. Stir in Bragg’s, fish sauce or sea salt and continue cooking 5 or 10 minutes longer until optional items are cooked.

6. Top with cilantro sprigs, green onion and lemon juice and serve.

Enjoy!

Thai Basil is a great and excellent source of vitamins and essential nutrients. There are a lot of other nutrients, vitamins and minerals present in Thai basil that are not listed here such as vitamin C and omega-3 fatty acid.

4 Unexpected Health Benefits of Basil

Basil leaves come complete with an array of antioxidants and other wonderful phytonutrients. Some of these phytonutrients, orientin and vicenin, which are in the flavonoid family, have been found to “protect cell structures as well as chromosomes from radiation and oxygen-based damage… Read more at Care2.com

Thai Basil seeds are said to have antioxidants, anti-cancer properties, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties. Minimal scientific research has been done on basil seeds. Maybe because there’s no huge market for Thai basil seeds yet. But the future for basil seeds looks very promising based on preliminary research.

Are Basil Seeds the New Superfood?

A detailed nutritional study of basil seeds is currently not available. But like other seeds, basil seeds contain all the concentrated nutrients and building blocks needed to grow a new plant. No toxicity or any harmful effects have ever been found for basil seeds. They’re recognized as safe to eat. Their basic nutritional make-up compared to chia seeds is… Read more at EcoWatch.com

Various Skin and Hair Benefits of Basil | Mind Blowing Basil Benefits

Basil makes a lot of sauces and dishes smell and taste extra special. But did you know that it is also being used in traditional healing for centuries now because of its impressive medicinal properties? It’s known to be highly effective against sore throat, fever, the common cold, cough, obesity, stress and even cancer… Watch here