Tom kha kai - chicken soup with coconut milk

This is a mild but spicy chicken soup (it can also be made with shrimp, 
pork, beef or mushrooms).

ingredients

16 fluid ounces  soup broth (chicken stock) or water 
2    kaffir lime leaves, rolled to crack them to 
   release the flavour, but otherwise intact 
2 inch piece  lemon grass, bruised to release flavor 
1 in cube   galangal ("kha") sliced thinly. 
4 tablespoon  fish sauce (or to taste) 
2 tablespoons  lime juice (or to taste) 
4 oz    chicken breast cut into smallish  
   bite sized pieces 
5 fluid ounces  coconut milk 
?   small red chillies, slightly crushed. 

coriander (cilantro) leaves to garnish. 

Note the number of red chillies is a personal choice. It can be as few 
as half a chilli per diner, to as many as 8-10 per diner, but the dish 
should retain a balance of flavours and not be overwhelmend by the 
chilies. Personally I would suggest about 8-12 chillies for this recipe.

method

Heat the stock, add the lime leaves, lemon grass, galangal, fish sauce, 
and lime juice. Stir thoroughly, bring to a boil, add the chicken and 
coconut milk, bring back to the boil, lower the heat to keep it 
simmering and cook for about 2 minutes (unitl the chicken is cooked 
through).

serve

Not really intended to be eaten as a separate course, you could serve it 
with just a serving of steamed white (jasmine) rice, or together with a 
Thai meal. This quantity serves 4 with other food, but is probably only 
enough for two if eaten separately.