Who doesn’t love a hot bowl of Tom Kha? I’m yet to encounter such a person. I first discovered this tasty Thai soup back in college at a local Eugene, Oregon joint. The trifecta of fresh and traditional herbs completely blew my mind. Lemongrass, Thai makrut lime leaves, and galangal root (where the “kha” in “tom kha” comes from) give this soup its incredible and unmistakable flavor.
Since becoming infatuated with this dish, I decided to attempt cooking it. I became reasonably skilled at making it, if I do say so myself. Now, every year for our Mountain Rose Herbs winter solstice employee party, it is requested that I make it (and I usually oblige). To be honest, it’s not that difficult to make. The excellent flavors come from the botanicals used more than from the cook.
One of the things I love about cooking and herbalism is the ability to freestyle and create new concoctions. One such herbal recipe that’s a staple in my home apothecary and gives me lots of freedom to experiment is … fire cider.
Fire cider, a vinegar-based tonic, has been gaining in popularity these past few years, perhaps partially due to the whole trademarking fiasco. This tasty combination of vinegar infused with herbs is an especially pleasant and easy way to boost natural health processes, stimulate digestion, and gets me warmed up on cold days. One day I thought, “I love fire cider, and I love tom kha. Why not make a tom kha fire cider?”. It seemed to me to be a brilliantly delectable idea, so I decided to approximate what I thought would be an adequate recipe for combining the two. The only traditional Thai ingredient I decided to omit, perhaps obviously, was the coconut milk.
What resulted was exactly what I was hoping for: a fire cider that had all of the bold yet delicate flavors from the soup with all the complementary subtleties and healthful ingredients from the more traditional remedy. Here’s how I did it, and you can too!
Ingredients
Mason Hutchison is the founder of HerbRally, a podcast and website that promotes herbalism education and events. He has completed herbalism apprenticeships at the Columbines School of Botanical Studies and the Arctos School of Herbal and Botanical Studies. Mason is the Events & Outreach Strategist for Mountain Rose Herbs. His day-to-day work involves organizing community events such as the Free Herbalism Project, as well as attending herbal conferences throughout the country. He is the co-organizer of one of the longest running herbal events in the US, the Breitenbush Herbal Conference. He is also on the board of directors for the Eugene Tea Festival. He has previously volunteered for the Occupy Medical herb team and the Native Plant Society of Oregon – Emerald Chapter. Mason is a proud father, avid basketball and ping pong player, spring water gatherer, and an enthusiast in the art of frugal nutrition.
Who doesn’t love a hot bowl of Tom Kha? I’m yet to encounter such a person. I first discovered this tasty Thai soup back in college at a local Eugene, Oregon joint. The trifecta of fresh and traditional herbs completely blew my mind. Lemongrass, Thai makrut lime leaves, and galangal root (where the “kha” in “tom kha” comes from) give this soup its incredible and unmistakable flavor.
Since becoming infatuated with this dish, I decided to attempt cooking it. I became reasonably skilled at making it, if I do say so myself. Now, every year for our Mountain Rose Herbs winter solstice employee party, it is requested that I make it (and I usually oblige). To be honest, it’s not that difficult to make. The excellent flavors come from the botanicals used more than from the cook.
One of the things I love about cooking and herbalism is the ability to freestyle and create new concoctions. One such herbal recipe that’s a staple in my home apothecary and gives me lots of freedom to experiment is … fire cider.
Fire cider, a vinegar-based tonic, has been gaining in popularity these past few years, perhaps partially due to the whole trademarking fiasco. This tasty combination of vinegar infused with herbs is an especially pleasant and easy way to boost natural health processes, stimulate digestion, and gets me warmed up on cold days. One day I thought, “I love fire cider, and I love tom kha. Why not make a tom kha fire cider?”. It seemed to me to be a brilliantly delectable idea, so I decided to approximate what I thought would be an adequate recipe for combining the two. The only traditional Thai ingredient I decided to omit, perhaps obviously, was the coconut milk.
What resulted was exactly what I was hoping for: a fire cider that had all of the bold yet delicate flavors from the soup with all the complementary subtleties and healthful ingredients from the more traditional remedy. Here’s how I did it, and you can too!
Ingredients
Mason Hutchison is the founder of HerbRally, a podcast and website that promotes herbalism education and events. He has completed herbalism apprenticeships at the Columbines School of Botanical Studies and the Arctos School of Herbal and Botanical Studies. Mason is the Events & Outreach Strategist for Mountain Rose Herbs. His day-to-day work involves organizing community events such as the Free Herbalism Project, as well as attending herbal conferences throughout the country. He is the co-organizer of one of the longest running herbal events in the US, the Breitenbush Herbal Conference. He is also on the board of directors for the Eugene Tea Festival. He has previously volunteered for the Occupy Medical herb team and the Native Plant Society of Oregon – Emerald Chapter. Mason is a proud father, avid basketball and ping pong player, spring water gatherer, and an enthusiast in the art of frugal nutrition.
