The coconut. Alas, the most versatile of fruits. It can be a source of expensive water that Zac Efron can drink on a new reality show. Its oils could soothe even the skin of the oldest saltwater crocodile. And its fruit can serve as an extremely bad ice cream topping.
Another delicious purpose of the coconut is that it can be used for milk. Now, I know what many of you may be thinking. Coconut milk really is not that good. Cow milk is objectively bad, and soy milk should be abolished. I don't recognize that almond milk even exists. Why would poor people in Southeast Asia risk their lives to climb coconut trees for milk? The answer is definitely that coconut milk tastes good in soups.
There is a wonderful land in the East that I have never set foot upon. The name of this land is Siam. It has an ancient history, and its national identity runs deep. It has a very old line of kings, who successfully resisted the terrible culinary instincts of the British during the colonial period. Today, Siam is known primarily for being a place for tourists to take photos that is not Vietnam. I think people internationally know the name Siam best from wonderful 2008 major motion picture Bangkok Dangerous starring famed thespian Nicolas Cage, whose work I deeply admire.
However, Siam is known for one other thing. The soups and foods of this not Vietnam are quite scrumptious. I am usually adverse to non-soup foods, but they have a wonderful dish known as drunken noodles that I enjoy quite often. Yes, this land of tourism is a most wonderful hub for rice-based noodle products.
One of Siam's most flavorful soups is the Tom Kha Gai. I do not speak Siamese, but I do speak the eternal language of soup, and therefore, I can tell you that this soup is one of the coconut milk variety.
What were the ancient chefs of this majestic land thinking when they constructed this heavenly dish? Were they inspired by the Buddha himself? They took curry paste, chilies, galangal (a word not native to the eternal dictionary of soup), and lemongrass, and crafted a liquid of divine proportions.
I specifically had the Tom Kha Gai from a local Siamese restaurant in Woodland Hills, United States. This soup was quite well-proportioned, and I can tell you that it was filling.
I usually get my soup very spicy, as I can stand any heat and any challenge. Thus, my soup was very hot. I burned my tongue but the experience was worth it.
I need to give a viscosity score. In my previous review, I did not give a viscosity score because everyone knows matzo ball soup lacks viscosity. This Tom Kha Gai, however, was extremely viscous. It was rich and milky and had a satisfying viscosity.
It was tangy. It was scrumptious. It was delicious, in fact. It was memorable. Sadly, however, I have some complaints.
In the dish known as Tom Kha Gai, the chef usually includes these diabolical mushrooms which I do not understand. They are exceptionally thick and look like the type of mushrooms that would kill you. Now, I am a massive fan of the fungi. But the mushrooms in this soup rubbed me the wrong way.
Additionally, this soup suffered from a law I meticulously researched and devised, the Reduction Principle of Soup. This principle states that as a soup reduces in quantity, its quality significant declines as it becomes colder and flavor is lost. Unfortunately, this soup was a victim to such a law.
Soup Score: 7.7/10
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