South by Southeast (Asian).

After all-I-could-eat butter chicken, naan and paneer in Delhi, I noticed there was also a lot of Thai and pan-Asian food in India. As you may remember from my epic 2011 Soupbet battle (whose archives appear to be buried deeper in the Internet than I can find anymore), I kind of go into withdrawal if I haven't had noodle soup in a few days.

Fortunately (even at the wedding) there was noodle soup to be had! I must confess that I had more than one bowl:

Yes, you're seeing two kinds of noodles in there: wheat noodles and bean thread noodles. I was in heaven.

The rich, coconutty, slightly acidic soup haunted me all the way home, so the first dinner stateside I cobbled together a winter-warming Thai coconut chicken soup (tom kha gai). My usual approach for replicating dishes is to Google a few recipes and triangulate my own, and it proved useful to develop the general flavor profile: coconut, lemongrass, ginger, lime, chili and fish sauce. My finished product was less rich and less yellow (a little more curry paste and coconut milk likely would have gotten the consistency closer), but the flavor was spot-on.

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Tom Kha Gai

Serves 4 (hungry people)

2-3 baby bok choy

1 lb boneless chicken breast

1 T corn starch

1 T oil

1/2 onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 T green curry paste

5 c chicken stock

1 15-oz can coconut milk

1 stalk lemongrass

1" piece ginger

1-2 limes

fish sauce (1 T, to taste)

8 oz mushrooms
2 T cilantro, minced

salt and white pepper to taste

a few drops sriracha

bean thread noodles for two (this is subjective :), but one knot is usually enough)

wheat noodles (Asian noodles if you have them, spaghetti is fine if not) for two

Heat oil in a medium pot over heat. Saute onion and garlic for 3 min. Add curry paste and saute for 3 more min. Add stock and coconut milk and bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat.

Bruise the lemongrass stalk (smash it a few times with the back of a heavy knife), then add to simmering liquid with ginger. Zest and juice limes, then add half the juice and zest to the brew. Slice mushrooms, and simmer all for 10-15 min. Season with salt and white pepper.

Meanwhile...
Wash and cut up baby bok choy into 1/4-1/2 inch strips (crosswise).

Cut up chicken into slices/small cubes and season with cornstarch, salt and pepper; set aside.

Cook noodles: boil wheat noodles in salted water according to package directions. Soak the bean thread noodles in hot water to soften.

After simmering for 10-15 min., remove whole ginger and lemongrass pieces from broth. Add chicken and bring to a boil, cooking for about 3-4 minutes or until opaque all the way through. Add bok choy and barely bring back to a boil. Add fish sauce and remaining lime juice and zest to soup, then taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Season with cilantro and a few drops sriracha for additional heat; add drained noodles and enjoy.