I am a huge fan of spicy food. It is probably one of the reasons I like Thai food so much; as it is one of the few cuisines that gets spicy so right. I would say that going to a Thai restaurant was the only time that I ever got food that was actually too spicy. I think they enjoy abusing westerners who ask for Thai hot.

As a caucasian male when you go in most restaurants and ask for hot; you get something pretty mild and bland. I’ve had this happen more times than I can count. This is fair, as most guys who I know are giant babies when it comes to spicy food.

One time while I was out in California on business I went to an Indian bistro. They had all sorts of interesting dishes and were rated pretty highly. It was the middle of the day and they were pretty slow; so the owner and I chatted for a bit while I was at the counter. I was in the mood for a good sweat, so before I ordered I told her “I like really spicy food. Don’t make it like you would for a westerner. Make it really spicy.” She assured me that they would make it really spicy for me… Yet even after my request it wasn’t very hot at all. Medium at best.

Perhaps the most exciting soup I have made yet. Tom Kha Gai is one of my favorite soups. It is both light and spicy; a great variation on chicken soup. I’ve been wanting to try making it for years. So I did.

The first step was to figure out what the ingredient profile was going to look like. Years ago I made a green curry with eggplants, so for the vegetable I chose to try eggplant again. To that end I found two very nice chinese eggplants and green chilies at an Indian grocery; that was a plus.

I have been experimenting with my chicken stock process, and for this cook I went for 40 minutes on pressure, and then 20 simmer. The chicken ended up being somewhat overcooked and tough; so next time I will try a lot less.

The broth was pretty interesting. There were a few issues with sourcing the ingredients - I couldn’t find lemongrass; and I forgot to pick up lime leaves.

I had gotten a good handful of chilies thinking that was a lot, but it ended up almost not being enough. When I made the broth I initially used about ten chilies. It seemed really spicy after it simmered down and I strained off the flotsam.

Or so I thought, because when I added the coconut milk it really killed the heat level far past what I was expecting. I ended up having to chop up the remainder and throw it into the pressure-cook; which turned out to be a great idea since it left some chilies in the final soup.

So, timings go, for the broth I did a 30 minute pressure with 30 minutes of simmer. That ended up being really good for the light flavors I was working with.

Since I had to sub in lemongrass oil instead of lemongrass, it seemed like the oil had cooked off some and I had to add more at both the beginning and end of the final cook.

I tried a 20 minute pressure and 20 minute simmer, and it ended up overcooking the eggplant slightly. I was worried it would be undercooked, but not only did it come out very soft it shrank down to less than half the original size.

I think if I were to make a modification I would use oyster mushrooms, and I may add some fresh basil as a finisher. I would also only use two cans of coconut milk. The third was probably unnecessary, and really hit the heat level in a negative way. I would also try and double the eggplant if it would even fit in the pot!

This dish has to be one of the best things I’ve ever made. After it was done cooking, I immediately tried a bowl. Hot out of the pot it was incredible. All of the aromatics were still hitting full force. The entire next day I would occasionally wander over to the pot, and by the evening it was half gone.

I took the rest for our sabbath gathering, served with a side of Calrose. My whole extended family each devoured a bowl; my daughter ate two. I had two guys come up to me afterwards and tell me how fantastic it was. I think a lot of the people there were a little scared to try it, but I guess it was their loss! The pot was completely empty by the end of the night.