Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Chicken Soup)

Thai food is among my favorite cuisines! I enjoy the tangy, sweet flavors that combine with the salty taste of fish sauce. Plus, a spicy kick that’s feels more like a tickle in the back of my throat than a burning mouth! Tom Kha Gai soup has become a must for me whenever I eat at a Thai Restaurant. The rich, creamy flavors of coconut milk combined with fresh squeezed lime juice and aromatic lemongrass.

Making Tom Kha Gai soup from scratch in my own kitchen makes my house smell like I walked into a Thai restaurant. It smells amazing! A few of the ingredients for this recipe come straight from an Asian market, but are so worth the time to shop there. There is no way to replicate the taste from these standouts: Kaffir Lime Leaves and Galangal Root (related to ginger). These two ingredients make all the difference.

Ingredients Needed for Tom Kha Gai

Here’s the ingredients you will want to find at an Asian market. They are super easy to find if your Asian market has fresh produce. Look at the photo below to help you identify more easily while you are at the market. Some grocery stores will have many of these ingredients, but an Asian market produce section will carry all of them.

• Lemongrass: At the Asian market, lemongrass comes in long stalks. To prepare lemongrass, cut off the end near the root and the top end below the off shoots. Peel off 1-2 layers by twisting the stalk a little with your fingers to find the wrapped layer starting to break away. Then, just peel it off. It’s so much easier than you imagine it to be.
• Small red shallots or red onion: At the Asian market, they will have several choices of red shallots. You can purchase the small ones and use 3-4 of them, or purchase the medium ones and use 1-2 of them. Or you can buy a normal sized red onion and use a quarter of it.
• Galangal root: It is one of the most important ingredients to help you get an authentic taste. This was a new ingredient I had never used before. It is related to ginger, but doesn’t look like ginger. You will be able to find it in the fresh produce section of the Asian market and is likely to be packaged by the store, not sitting out like the ginger is. You won’t need to peel it like ginger and just need to cut some chunks to throw into the soup pot. It takes a good knife to cut through the root.
• Ginger root: Buying this ingredient at the Asian market is wise. I didn’t realize there would be a freshness difference, but there was. As I was peeling the ginger from the Asian market, juice was spritzing all over the place! My favorite way to peel ginger root is with a spoon. The outer layer of the root comes off so easy with a spoon and the spoon gets into all the difficult spots with such ease!
• Kafir lime leaves: This is another ingredient that is a must have for authentic taste. I hadn’t realized this ingredient existed, but when I purchased it the first time and smelled the leaves, I knew the best Thai recipes used this ingredient! The leaves are a beautiful green color and are found in the produce section of the Asian market, and likely packaged by the store. The leaves have two leaves attached together–counted as one leaf for the recipe (because more of these beauties is better). And when you smash/bruise them, you smell the essence! Dried kafir leaves are just not the same.
• Thai red chilies: These chilies are tiny and red and beautiful, but THEY ARE SPICY HOT! Maybe you want to purchase them just for a fun garnish! Or if you really want to taste some heat–eat one all by itself…
• Limes: The Asian market will have big, beautiful, fresh limes. Since you are already at the market for other ingredients, buy limes too.
• Mushrooms: The Asian market produce section will have a fun variety of mushrooms to choose from. Some of my favorites are mini-shitake, cremini, shimeji. Take your pick or just get regular white mushrooms at the grocery store.
• Fresh Thai Basil: This type of basil is different than the basil you see at the grocery store. The leaves are more pointy on the end and has purple undertones. The flavor of this basil also tastes more like Asian food, instead of Italian food.
• Cilantro: The Asian market produce section has fresh cilantro. It’s amazing that cilantro is used in Asian food as well as fresh Mexican foods.
• Green Onions: Used for garnish and found at the Asian market produce section as well.

Other Ingredients

• Chicken broth: Your favorite chicken broth is the perfect choice.
• Coconut milk: You will need several cans, especially if you are creating a Thai main dish or dessert to accompany this soup.
• Coconut sugar (or granulated sugar): This may seem like strange ingredient, but it just needs that little sweet to temper some of the sour and salty and create a more robust flavor.
• Chicken: you can choose chicken thighs or breasts. Either will work perfectly.
• Coconut Oil: I love the healthy aspect of this oil and the slight coconut flavor, but any oil would work for stir-frying the chicken.

How to Make Tom Kha Gai:

Phase 1: Making the Base Soup Broth:

Add the following ingredients to a medium-large pot:

• chicken broth
• coconut milk
• 1” pieces of peeled lemongrass—from 3 long stalks of lemongrass
• 3-4 small red shallots—peeled and whole
• 4- 1” chunks galangal root—not peeled
• 5- 1” chunks ginger root—peeled and cut
• 8 Kafir lime leaves—bruise/smash with fingers to release essence
• Thai Red Chilies—to taste (the more the hotter)—can slice open for added spicy heat, also optional

The coconut milk steeps in these flavorful ingredients. Let the ingredients simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes (or can be longer if needed).

Phase 2: Cook the Chicken:

While the coconut broth is simmering, cook the bite-sized pieces of chicken in coconut oil. Season chicken with pepper. When the chicken is no longer pink, set aside.

Phase 3: Strain the Broth and Add Other Ingredients:

When coconut milk mixture is done simmering, separate the whole ingredients from the coconut milk. Place a large bowl underneath a fine mesh strainer to catch all the coconut milk. Throw away the remaining whole pieces of ginger root, galangal root, shallots, lemongrass, red chilis, and kafir leaves.

Pour the steeped coconut milk broth back into the original medium-large pot. Now add the following ingredients: fish sauce, fresh squeezed lime juice, peeled and shredded ginger root and coconut sugar. Return to simmer.

Phase 4: Finishing Touches and Garnish:

Prepare mushrooms by washing and cutting into bite-sized portions. Simmer until mushrooms have cooked and reduced in size—about 10-15 minutes, then add chicken. Continue to simmer until chicken is warm—just a few minutes unless chicken was refrigerated.

Also prepare garnishes by chopping Thai basil and cilantro leaves, as well as thinly slicing red onions and green onions.

Divide soup among serving bowls. Garnish as desired.

This soup can be refrigerated for 2-3 days and gently reheated. Can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Enjoy this authentic Tom Kha Gai—Thai Coconut Chicken Soup!

It makes me so happy to share this soup with you!

-Kim

Print Recipe

Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Chicken Soup)

An authentic Thai rich and creamy, yet tangy soup made with chicken, mushrooms, lime juice, and coconut milk.

Prep Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Thai

Keyword: chicken, coconut milk, mushrooms, soup, Thai

Servings: 6

Author: Kim Melanson

Ingredients

Soup Broth—Initial Cooking Phase:

• ½ cup chicken broth
• 3 (14 oz cans) coconut milk
• 3 long/thin stalks lemongrass –peel off outside and cut into 1” pieces
• 3-4 small red shallots or quarter red onion
• 4 inch galangal root – 1” chunks a must-have for authentic taste
• 4-5 inch ginger root—peeled and cut into 1” chunks
• 8 Kafir lime leaves a must-have for authentic taste—bruise/smash with fingers to release essence
• 2-10 Thai Red Chilies – to taste the more the hotter—can slice open for added spicy heat

Add to Soup Broth—After Straining:

• ⅓ cup fish sauce
• ¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice about 2-3 limes
• 2 Tablespoons freshly peeled and grated ginger root
• ½ Tablespoon coconut sugar (or granulated sugar)

Soup Add-ins:

• 2-3 pounds boneless skinless chicken cut into bite-sized chunks
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 10-12 ounces variety of mixed mushrooms such as shitake, cremini, shimeji, or white. Cut larger mushrooms into bite-sized pieces

Garnish:

• Sliced Thai Red Chilies optional, use only if spicy heat is desirable
• Fresh Thai Basil more authentic
• Thinly Sliced red onion
• Fresh Cilantro coarsely chopped
• Green Onion white and green parts, thinly sliced

Instructions

• Add first 8 ingredients into a medium-large pot. Simmer with lid for at least 30 minutes (can simmer longer).
• While simmering, stir-fry chicken in a skillet with about 2 TBS coconut oil and 1 tsp pepper. When chicken is no longer pink, set aside.
• Cut and prepare mushrooms. Prepare garnishes. Set aside.
• When coconut milk broth is done simmering, strain over a fine mesh strainer, catching the coconut milk mixture in a large bowl. Discard what is left in the strainer.
• Put coconut milk broth back into the same medium-large pot.
• Add fish sauce, lime juice, grated ginger, and coconut sugar. Stir.
• Add mushrooms and bring to a boil again with lid on. Simmer until mushrooms have cooked and reduced in size—about 10-15 minutes, then add chicken.
• Continue to simmer until chicken is warm—just a few minutes unless chicken was refrigerated.
• Divide soup among serving bowls. Garnish with sliced Thai Chilies (if desired), Thai Basil, sliced red onion, green onions and fresh cilantro.

Notes

This soup can be refrigerated for 2-3 days and gently reheated. Can be frozen for up to 3 months.

The best place to find most ingredients is at the produce section of an Asian market.

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