Tom Kha Gai - Thai Coconut Chicken Soup
Tom Kha Gai is a classic Thai coconut chicken soup made with galangal, lemongrass, lime, and creamy coconut milk for a rich, aromatic, and perfectly balanced dish.
Ingredients
For the Soup
- 1 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 5 eq makrut lime leaves
- 2-3 ea Thai chiles halved
- 5-6 slices slices galangal root 1/2 inch thick
- 1-2 ea lemongrass stalk pounded with the side of a knife and cut into 2-inch long pieces
- 4 cups chicken broth or stock
- 2 Cups full-fat coconut cream from a can; or full-fat unsweetened coconut milk
- 4 ea medium boneless/skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces
- 8 oz Shitake mushroom caps sliced
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tsp Chili Oil for garnish
- 6 ea Thai Basil leaves bruised and torn for garnish
Instructions
- Bring chicken stock to a boil, then add the salt and chicken thigh. Simmer gently for 15 minutes or until chicken is fork tender. Remove and reserve the Chicken pieces.
- Add the lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime leaves, chilies, & mushrooms, and finally the Coconut milk; Simmer for 5 minutes to infuse.
- after removing the aromatics, add 2 tablespoon fish sauce and the fresh squeezed lime juice and simmer, Then add the shitake mushroom caps and chicken back to the broth.
- Turn off the heat and then taste and add more fish sauce or lime as needed.
- garnish with bruised Thai basil and chili oil
Notes
- For a lighter soup, you can add reduce the coconut milk by about ½ cup and increase the chicken stock by the same amount.
- If using chicken breast, cut into ½-inch thick slices and marinate in 1 tablespoon of fish sauce while you're prepping. Skip step #1 as chicken breast does not need to be simmered and is best cooked only briefly, and omit the salt. Reduce the chicken stock to 1 ½ cups and add it at step #2. Add the chicken breast to the soup at the end along with the mushrooms in step #3 and cook for a couple of minutes just until the chicken is done. Be sure to taste and adjust the salt at the end!
- The lemongrass, galangal and makrut lime leaves are meant for infusion only and not meant to be eaten. Please inform your guests or remove them before serving.