Tom Kha Gai Recipe (Thai Coconut Chicken Soup) (2024)

Published: Mar 2, 2022 · Modified: Jan 30, 2024 by Faith · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

This creamy Tom Kha Gai recipe (Thai coconut chicken soup) showcases the magic of Thai cuisine! It’s a perfect harmony of sweet, tangy, and savory flavors with a rich coconut milk base, chicken for protein, and fresh, bright herbs and aromatics. Additionally, the best part is that it whips up in just 30 minutes!

The first time I had Tom Kha Gai (or Tom Kha Kai) in Thailand I realized I had a new favorite. The bright, tangy flavor is a delicious complement to the creamy, yet complex coconut milk broth. It will wake up your taste buds for sure.

Thai cuisine is known for the art of marrying flavors, and this soup is a wonderful example of that!

In this recipe, creamy, naturally sweet coconut milk broth comes together with savory garlic, galangal, and shallot, spicy Thai bird’s eye chilies, salty umami fish sauce, tangy lime juice, and bright cilantro in a beautiful way.

Not only is this soup flavor-packed, but it’s also nutritious. It’s rich in healthy fats, contains vitamins and minerals, and is a good source of protein.

One spoonful and I think you’ll have a new favorite soup!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Well-balanced flavor profile. Like many Thai dishes, this soup is a balance of salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami flavors.
• Ready in 30 minutes from start-to-finish. This delicious Thai coconut chicken soup is quick and easy to make, which makes it perfect for a weeknight meal!
• A good option if you have special dietary concerns. Tom Kha Gai soup is naturally gluten free, dairy free, paleo, low carb, and additionally, easy to fit into a keto lifestyle.

Tom Kha Gai Ingredients and Substitutions

• Chicken broth - Chicken broth or stock provides a rich, flavorful base.
• Garlic, galangal, shallot, and lemongrass - These aromatics are frequently used in Thai cuisine to add complexity. However, if you can't find galangal at your local Asian grocery store, use fresh ginger instead.
• Thai bird’s eye chilies - This small, thin pepper is quite hot, so start with less and add more. You can find these at Asian groceries, or substitute with crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper to taste.
• Tamari sauce - Alternatively, you can use an equal amount of coconut aminos or soy sauce. However, for authentic Tom Kha Gai, omit the tamari sauce and use 1 ½ tablespoons of fish sauce (or more to taste).
• Fish sauce - Fish sauce is a common ingredient in many Thai dishes, and a classic ingredient here. This fermented condiment adds rich, savory depth, and yes, underlying notes of fish.
• Coconut sugar - A bit of coconut sugar helps create a balanced flavor profile. You can substitute with light brown sugar.
• Coconut milk - Coconut milk is a classic ingredient in Tom Kha Gai.
• Boneless skinless chicken breasts - Or you can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
• Red bell pepper and white button mushrooms - Go with any color bell pepper and any type of mushroom you have on hand.
• Kaffir lime leaves - Also known as makrut lime leaves; this adds intense citrus flavor and aroma. Look for these at your local Asian grocery store. If you can’t find them, instead add ½ teaspoon freshly-grated lime zest along with the lime juice.
• Scallion - Scallion is optional; it adds mild onion flavor.
• Cilantro - Cilantro adds fresh bright flavor to this creamy coconut soup.
• Lime juice - True to Thai cuisine, this soup uses a sour component to balance the dish. Here we use a generous amount of fresh lime juice, which not only cuts through the coconut milk's richness, but also adds tart flavor to balance the sweet, salty, spicy, and savory flavors.

Instructions

Start With the Prep Work

For the lemongrass, remove the outer leaves, trim off both ends, cut it into 3 pieces, and pound each piece with a meat tenderizer (or rolling pin).

1. Prepare the other aromatics; peel and crush the garlic, peel and grate the galangal (or ginger), mince the shallot, and thinly slice the chilies.
2. Chop the vegetables. This is also a good time to thinly slice the chicken.

How to Make Tom Kha Gai

1. Add the chicken broth, garlic, galangal, shallot, lemongrass, Thai chili, tamari sauce, fish sauce, and coconut sugar to a 3-quart pot over high heat. Bring to a boil.
2. Once boiling, add the coconut milk, chicken, red bell pepper, mushrooms, and kaffir lime leaves (if using).
3. Give it a stir. Bring back up to a boil, and then boil for 3 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked.
4. Remove from the heat and stir in the scallion and cilantro. Add the fresh lime juice and give it a stir. Serve topped with any garnishes you like.

Storage and Reheating

Store this soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat it gently on the stovetop or in the microwave.

Tips for Making Tom Kha Gai

• Chicken thighs also work well here. You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts if you prefer (just make sure to slice them super thin!).
• Swap out the mushrooms. This recipe calls for white button mushrooms, but you could also use cremini, shiitake, or oyster mushrooms. Feel free to double the amount of mushrooms if you really like them. However, if you’re not a fan of mushrooms you can omit them.
• As written, this soup isn’t overly spicy-hot. Yes, Thai bird’s eye chilies pack a punch of spicy heat, but we only use one chili to add balance. We also have sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami ingredients. Of course, if you like it hot feel free to add more chilies to taste!

Tom Kha Gai Soup FAQs

What is the Difference Between Tom Yum and Tom Kha Gai?

Tom Yum is a sweet, sour, and spicy Thai soup with prawns frequently added. The main difference between Tom Yum and Tom Kha is that Tom Kha contains coconut milk. This changes the color of the broth from clear to milky, and adds creamy rich sweetness to the flavor.

How Hot is a Thai Bird’s Eye Chili?

Thai bird’s eye chilies may be small (typically around 2 inches long), but they’re fairly potent. They have a fruity, peppery flavor and usually range from 50,000 to 100,000 on the Scoville scale. As a point of comparison, jalapeno Scoville units range from 2,500 from 8,000.

Where Can I Buy the Ingredients for Tom Kha Gai?

You can find a lot of the ingredients for this soup at your regular grocery store.

However, there are a few ingredients that I have to go to local Asian grocery store to find:

• Lemongrass
• Thai bird’s eye chilies
• Kaffir lime leaves (my local Asian market usually carries these, but they were out of stock when I went there to buy the ingredients to make this soup)

What Do You Serve with Tom Kha Gai?

For a lighter meal, serve Tom Kha Gai as-is. You can also enjoy it with steamed jasmine rice, or pair it with cauliflower rice to keep the carbs down.

Is Tom Kha Gai Soup Healthy?

Thai coconut chicken soup is packed with nutrition as well as flavor!

Garlic and galangal both have strong anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial properties (read more about garlic on Everyday Health and find out about galangal on Healthline).

Also, coconut milk is rich with healthy fat (learn more on WebMD).

Chicken adds protein, and bell pepper and mushrooms bump up the vitamins and minerals.

More Unique Soups to Make

• Gulaschsuppe (German Goulash Soup)
• Panang Curry Red Lentil Soup
• Borscht (Beet Soup)

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