Tom Kha Gai – Thai Chicken Soup in Coconut Milk with homemade chicken stock
Thailand's white soup, soft and creamy from coconut milk, with the sharp, floral scent of galangal and lemongrass. Unlike red tom yum, the heat here is gentle and the sourness comes only from the lime.
Put the chicken, the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, bay leaves and peppercorns and the water in a pot and bring to a boil. Skim off the foam that rises during the first 15 minutes with a spoon.
StovePot
2
Turn down and simmer gently 2.5–3 hours.
Stove
💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
3
Strain the stock.
Colander
For the Soup
4
Peel the dry outer layer off the lemongrass, cut into 5 cm pieces and crush them with the back of a knife.
KnifeCutting board
5
Bring to a gentle simmer in a wide pot the coconut milk, stock, lemongrass, ginger, lime leaves and chili.
StoveWide, shallow pot
💡Bring coconut milk only to a gentle boil: a long, hard boil makes it split and the fat floats.
6
Turn down the heat and simmer 10 minutes, until the flavors infuse the stock.
Stove
7
Add the chicken and mushrooms, gently separate the slices and cook 6–7 minutes, until the chicken turns white.
Stove
💡Thin chicken slices cook in the simmering stock within minutes and stay tender: add them after the hard vegetables, not at the start.
8
Add the red onion for 1 minute, so it keeps a little crunch.
Stove
9
Turn off the heat and stir in the fish sauce, lime juice and sugar. Taste: the soup should be sour, salty and sweetish all at once. Adjust to taste.
💡Balance at the end, once the flavors have come together: add sour, sweet and salty a little at a time, tasting between additions.
10
Serve hot in bowls, and sprinkle the carrot and cilantro on top.
648calories
31 gprotein
17 gcarbs
52 gfat
● protein 19%● carbs 10%● fat 71%
Per serving, servings (calculated for this version)
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⚖ About the ingredients
Chicken stock: measured in cup in this recipe: 1 cup = 240 g · 12 kcal per 100 g · More about Chicken stock →
Carrots: measured in pieces: one ≈ 62 g · 41 kcal per 100 g · More about Carrots →
🔧 Tools needed (4) · 🍳 One cooking vessel
Stove· 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Portable hot plate (one weaker burner) · Camping gas stove (One burner, outdoors) · Electric pressure cooker (multicooker) (One pot, no real shallow frying)
Wide, shallow pot· Also works: Deep skillet (sauté pan) (None)· 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Pot (Layers instead of a single layer)
Cutting board· Also works: Plate (Large plate, dulls the knife)
Knife· Also works: Food processor (Fast, less control over size) · Kitchen shears (For herbs/dough)
By the steps, as the recipe is built now: another version or addition can change the list.
