If chicken soup is comfort for the soul then Tom Kha Gai - Thai Chicken Soup is the kind of thing that packs a punch that will awaken your entire body with it’s fresh flavors and zesty undertones. Have you ever made Tom Kha Gai before?
Most Chicken Soups involve real comfort with soft flavors, but Tom Kha Gai is a real step apart thanks to a real dose of lime juice and layers of herb flavors in it’s soul.
Why you’ll love this
Fresh and acidic
The layers of flavor thanks to the fresh ingredients in the soup broth adds complexity, but also keeps the overall taste nice and fresh with a hint of acidity.
Soup with rice
A lot of research went into this recipe and most people in Thailand consume this soup with rice to soak up the liquid. It makes the dish a little more filling which is also a win!
Quick to make
Soups are one of the lowest effort meals and though Tom Kha Gai isn’t as easy as throw everything into the pot at one time, it is still pretty low maintenance making it ideal for a weeknight dinner.
Ingredients and substitutions for the best Tom Kha Gai - Thai Chicken Soup
- Coconut milk: The best coconut milk here is a nice thick creamier milk, no reduced fat here. If you want to make it creamier, you could add 1 cup coconut cream and thin it out with ½ cup water.
- Chicken stock: This one is used over and over again in many traditional recipes and the best to use is obviously homemade, but any good full bodied chicken stock works well here. If you don’t have any one hand, substitute in equal measure with vegetable stock.
- Galangal: This Asian ingredient can be found in most Asian supermarkets as a fresh rhizome which is what you’ll want here. It closely resembles ginger in appearance, but has a very different flavor in that it is more citrusy and lighter in fragrance than ginger which is spicier in fragrance and more pungent in flavor. They cannot be interchanged, so if you cannot source fresh galangal for the soup, simply add 1 tablespoon fresh ginger and ½ teaspoon lemon juice to create a similar flavor here.
- Kaffir lime leaves: So much of Tm Kha Gai flavor comes from these small leaves that will hit you with their fragrance when you remove the stems. Fresh is best here, though dry leaves will also work. You should be able too source these from Asian supermarkets. If you cannot source Kaffir lime leaves, simply substitute with 1 teaspoon lime zest.
- Lemongrass: The mild citrus flavor in fresh lemongrass works perfectly to compliment the galangal, lime leaves and lime juice in our soup and you should be able to source these from an Asian supermarket. If you cannot source fresh lemongrass, you can use 2 teaspoons of ginger alongside 2 teaspoons of cilantro stalks.
- Cilantro: Fresh cilantro is also known as coriander (which is actually the name for the seeds) helps infuse the soup base with the stalks and then the finely chopped leaves help to round out the citrusy flavor of the soup with a garnishing on top. If you cannot stand the flavor of this, simply omit from the recipe.
- Chicken: Skinless and boneless chicken breast is best here because it the cubes are in the broth long enough to cook, but not so long as to be tender.
- Mushrooms: Any mushrooms you have on hand work here, with Oysters or even dried mushrooms working.
- Shallot: A shallot or small onion is not essential, but is used in a number of Thai Chicken Soup recipes and is a great way to add more veggies into your meal.
- Thai chili: Thai chilis are small so a fresh cayenne pepper is a great substitute here.
- Rice: Most often served traditionally with rice, Jasmine rice is best served here, thanks to it being grown primarily in Southeast Asia with it’s long but also thicker grain then Basmati makes it ideal to serve alongside your soup.
See recipe card for quantities.
Equipment needed to make this
Heavy pot: The soup cooks in a large pot so you’ll need one large enough to serve 4 people.
Saucepan: A small saucepan with a lid is also needed to cook the rice.
Heavy knife: To smash against your galangal and lemongrass to really get the fragrance out of the produce as well as cut your ingredients.
Ladle: To ladle into your bowl when serving up.
More soups you’ll love
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How to make:
Place the coconut milk and chicken stock in a heavy bottomed pot on low heat.
Add the galangal, lime leaves, lemongrass and cilantro stalks, cooking to infuse the soup for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the chicken into bite size pieces and add to the fragrant soup stock to cook for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes to cook evenly.
Add the mushrooms, shallot and chili to the soup, cooking for a further 5 minutes.
For the rice, wash until the rice until the water runs clear and toss into a small saucepan.
Pour the water on top and place on high heat, covered and cook for 12 minutes. Only move the lid if the water is boiling over and place it ajar, mostly covering the rice.
Turn the heat off and place the lid on top and leave the rice to rest for 5 minutes.
Lastly, toss in the lime juice and stir to combine.
Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of fluffy rice into a bowl and ladle the soup on top, discarding the galangal and lemongrass (or simply leaving it at the bottom of the bowl).
Sprinkle over some of the finely chopped cilantro leaves and serve up immediately.
Dig in!
Tom Kha Gai - Thai Chicken Soup
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: Thai
Description
Thai Chicken Soup is creamy, fresh and zesty and comes together quick and is best served with rice to make this a satisfying meal.
Ingredients
400 milliliters / 1 ½ cups coconut milk
500 milliliters / 2 cups chicken stock
1 inch chunk galangal, peeled, sliced and smashed with the base of a heavy knife
3 kaffir lime leaves, stems removed and finely chopped
2 stalks lemongrass, base removed and smashed with the base of a heavy knife
Handful fresh cilantro, stalks set aside and leaves finely chopped
300 grams / 1 large chicken breast
200 grams / 7 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 Thai chili, trimmed and finely sliced (see Ingredients section)
185 grams / 1 cup Jasmine rice
310 milliliters / 1 ¼ cups water
Instructions
- Place the coconut milk and chicken stock in a heavy bottomed pot on low heat.
- Add the galangal, lime leaves, lemongrass and cilantro stalks, cooking to infuse the soup for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut the chicken into bite size pieces and add to the fragrant soup stock to cook for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes to cook evenly.
- Add the mushrooms, shallot and chili to the soup, cooking for a further 5 minutes.
- For the rice, wash until the rice until the water runs clear and toss into a small saucepan.
- Pour the water on top and place on high heat, covered and cook for 12 minutes. Only move the lid if the water is boiling over and place it ajar, mostly covering the rice.
- Turn the heat off and place the lid on top and leave the rice to rest for 5 minutes.
- Lastly, toss in the lime juice and stir to combine.
- Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of fluffy rice into a bowl and ladle the soup on top, discarding the galangal and lemongrass (or simply leaving it at the bottom of the bowl).
- Sprinkle over some of the finely chopped cilantro leaves and serve up immediately.
- Dig in!
Notes
Adapted from several sources
Nutrition
- Calories: 524 calories per serve
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