Are you obsessed with Thai food as much as I am? I love ordering the Tom Kha Gai soup (also known as coconut soup). Something about sweet and savory always gets me. The combination of coconut, lime, and Thai chilis makes all my taste buds happy! I love this soup so much, I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Eating out at Thai restaurants all the time can get expensive, so why not try making one of your favorite dishes at home? You can play around with it and try making your Thai coconut soup with chicken, shrimp, or veggies to see which combo you enjoy the most! I prefer a chicken and shrimp combo. (Speaking of shrimp, this cocktail sauce recipe and these Asian shrimp tacos both sound amazing!)
Sometimes cooking with Thai herbs like lemongrass and ginger can be intimidating, but don’t worry—it’s easier than you think! Let’s get cooking and make the best Thai coconut chicken soup. This will be on the tastiest recipes you’ve ever made!
By the way, if you’re looking for another delicious soup to make, try this ewedu recipe, which is a traditional Nigerian soup. And if you’re looking for another Asian-inspired dish, I recommend this chicken egg foo young or these rice paper dumplings.
Thai Coconut Soup Recipe (Tom Kha Gai)
SERVES: 4
INGREDIENTS:
1 can of fat coconut milk
2 cups of water
4 inches ginger, peeled and cut into a few big chunks (you’ll have to remove these later so don’t chop too small!)
2 stalks of lemongrass (see video for how to process – you’ll have to remove these later so don’t chop too small!)
3/4 large white onion peeled then cut into large slices
2 raw chicken breasts cut into medium chunks (for stronger flavor, you can add in a splash of chicken broth)
4 – 5 small Thai chilies, diced (depending on how much spice you like)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of organic, halved cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 fresh lime juiced
2 green onions – for garnish
STEPS:
Bring coconut milk and water to a boil then reduce to simmer over medium heat. Add lemongrass and ginger. Let simmer 5 minutes (the heat from the liquid will bring out the flavor of the lemongrass and ginger).
Add onion, chicken, and chilies. Simmer until chicken is cooked through (8-10 min), adding the tomatoes after about 5 min.
Add soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, and salt to taste.
Ladle into bowls, removing the chunks of lemongrass and ginger, and top with an extra squeeze of lime and a garnish of green onions.
A FEW RECIPE NOTES:
To add some more flavor to your soup, you can try adding kaffir lime leaves.
You can add a twist to this recipe by adding in red curry paste to make the soup taste spicier.
You could also add some additional chili paste to make it even spicier.
If you do not have fish sauce, you can skip it and add 1 more tablespoon of soy sauce.
To make this gluten-free, use gluten-free soy sauce or Tamari.
I love when you can customize a dish for both vegetarians and meat eaters. If you’re looking for another delicious vegetarian dish, check out this curry with soya chunks. I also think these edamame dumplings would be a great appetizer for this soup!
One of my other favorite soups is pho. Check out this guide to pho spices for more info on what spices you need to make this delicious dish!
Recipe by guest contributor Lindsay Kinder, of Food La La, your go-to for the hows, whats, and whys of cooking healthy, but delicious food!
Photography by Erica Garlieb.
Love this recipe? Be sure to check out other food & drink recipes here.
FAQs
The key difference between Tom Yum and Tom Kha is that Tom Kha adds coconut milk to the soup base while Tom Yum does not.
The best way to describe the taste of Tom Kha is that it is creamy, spicy, a sour from the lime and lemongrass.
The best way to add lemongrass to your soup is by removing the pieces that tend to be woody.
Kha is known as galangal, which is Thai ginger and has a sharpy citrusy and piney flavor.
Elise Armitage is an entrepreneur and founder of What The Fab, a travel + lifestyle blog based in California. At the beginning of 2019, Elise left her corporate job at Google to chase her dreams: being an entrepreneur and helping women find fabulous in the everyday. Since then, she’s launched her SEO course Six-Figure SEO, where she teaches bloggers how to create a passive revenue stream from their website using SEO. Featured in publications like Forbes, Elle, HerMoney, and Real Simple, Elise is a firm believer that you can be of both substance and style.
