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Tom Kha Soup - the EASIEST recipe for Tom Kha Gai or Thai coconut chicken soup with chicken, mushroom and coconut milk, and even better than the restaurant.
What Is Tom Kha Soup
Tom Kha Soup is everyone’s favorite Thai coconut chicken soup. Usually under the name tom kha gai, it is one of the most popular soups in Thai recipes, other than Tom Yum Soup. If you have Thai food, I am sure you have tried this amazing and aromatic chicken soup.
Ingredients For Tom Kha Gai
Tom Kha Gai is very easy to make at home. All you need are these ingredients:
- Chicken
- Coconut Milk
- Mushrooms
- Lemongrass
- Galangal
- Thai chilies
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
The cooking process is super easy, and in 20 minutes, you will have a pot of creamy, aromatic, sour, savory and mouthwatering soup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tom Kha soup is actually surprisingly healthy. The broth is rich in minerals that are good for you.
Tom means soup. Kha means “galangal” in Thai, and galangal is a relative to ginger. Gai means chicken. Together, they make this delicious soup!
5 days.
This soup is 510 calories per serving.
What To Serve With Tom Kha Soup
For a wholesome Thai dinner, make the following dishes.
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Other Recipes You Might Like
- Tom Yum Soup Recipe
- Creamy Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Instant Pot)
- Thai Coconut Chicken and Shrimp Soup
Tom Kha Soup
Ingredients
- 8 oz (230g) boneless and skinless chicken, breast or thighs, cut into strips or thin pieces
- 20 canned straw mushrooms
- 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- 1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 3-inch (7cm) lengths and pounded
- 6 kaffir lime leaves, lightly bruised to release the flavor
- 6 slices galangal
- 8 bird’s eye chilies, lightly pounded
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice , or to taste
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Add water, lemongrass, galangal, chilies, and kaffir lime leaves to a pot and bring to a boil. Add the straw mushrooms and chicken, then boil on medium heat for a few minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Add coconut milk and boil for a couple more minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in lime juice and fish sauce to taste. Garnish with chopped cilantro before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe tonight for dinner and hubby loves it! Love the how easy and simple this recipe is, yet the soup is so rich and flavorful – sour, salty, spicy… really hit the spot on cold night. Thanks!
Hi, just to share some tips to those who lives in places where kaffir lime leaves are hard to get or prefer to use only fresh ingredients (dried kaffir lime leaves are sometime sold in bulk, and I hate to buy things in bulk if I rarely use them!). You can just use the zest of one lime which you are going to squeeze the juice into the soup later. Works just the same!
Your blog is impressive and Tom Kha Gai looks so delicious and authentic. We are Thai Direct (www.thaidirect.co), the authentic Thai meal kit company, delivering fresh authentic Thai ingredients with easy recipes to cook authentic Thai meals at home. Check us out when have a chance. Thanks!
I love this soup! A Loi Mak Mak! I prefer this recipe with fresh mushroom – oyster mushroom and enoki mushroom! haha
Thanks for sharing, Ai.
If I cannot find galangal, can I use Tom yum soup base? I checked th label and found it contained several of the soup ingredients.
Yes you can.
I just made this and followed your recipe almost to a tee. It turned out fantastic! I don’t typically cook so when I do, I must follow a recipe. I love your website! Made your hot and sour soup also. My husband commented that it looked so authentic. Anyway, I used lemon instead of lime for the Thai coconut soup because that’s all I had. But all the other ingredients are key: kaffir lime leaves (found fresh ones in local Asian grocery store), galangal (found a frozen bag in my local Asian grocery store also) and lemongrass (I cheated on this one, used the one in a bottle, that’s all I could find). I just wanted to let you know that you made a cook out of me! If there was a photo attachment option here, I would include my amateur attempt of making this delicious soup.
Hi Melanie, that’s so good to hear that you had success with my recipes. I am so happy. :)
I cheat quite a bit when I make tom kha gai. I use Pacific Foods Tom Yum base, then add more fish sauce, lime juice, and – gasp! – ginger paste. Plus, I do put in a small piece of palm sugar as well as at least a few (or more) teaspoons of nam prik pao. I also use oyster mushrooms instead of straw.
In response to someone who thought the soup was too thin, you can do a couple things. Mind you, these are experimental (mostly), but should work. 1: add a bit of rice flour to some nam prik pao (or chili oil), stir into soup prior to putting in coconut milk, and simmer ’til it’s to the thickness you want; 2: add coconut cream instead of coconut milk; or 3. let the soup simmer for awhile ’til some of the broth has evaporated. [This one I have done – by accident. But good results!] To do the latter, though, if you’ve already added the coconut milk, make sure it’s on the lowest possible setting and make sure to gently stir every so once in awhile; this may take some time, especially if you’ve already added coconut milk/cream. You might also want to try a combination of these things if one alone doesn’t work. Good luck!
sometimes I put a bit of green curry (like half a teaspoon) that has been fried with a bit of coconut milk. This adds a depth of flavor that I LOVE. Also, I boil the ingredients with bone-in chicken leg or thigh (breast meat is too dry) which adds flavor to it. Also, at the tail end of the cooking, I throw in some shrimp, because YUM shrimp!! But now that the weather has turned…yum!!!
Thanks for the great tip Monica I will have to try it the next time when I make Tom Kha Gai. :)
powdered glangal is available at Penzy’s Spices.
So is powdered lemongrass.
Makes thai cooking much easier!!
Tom yum khaa, it tastes just like it sounds. Whether you’re snuggled up on a cold winters night, or heating it up in that filthy lunchroom microwave, it will take your mind to the coconut filled beaches of Thailand. The sweet yet tangy aromatic flavours startle the likes of those who are not accustomed to this South East Asian cuisine. Maybe its the enoki mushrooms and cherry tomatoes floating graciously in the creamy coconut milk, or is it the spicy fragrances hurling towards my pallet .I take my first sip, not expecting the ambush of flavors that was to come. Sweet and sour overwhelms my senses and I am left with the common after burn that accompanies a Thai dish. My taste buds scream for more, ignoring the need for a freshly pored glass of cold water. As it warms my belly, I cant help but imagine the sites and sounds of that coconut filled beach, the waves crashing, the sun rays beaming down on my back, and even that old man frying fish on the side of the road. Despite the subzero temperatures and the snow covered evergreens that currently surround me, this dish seemingly transforms into a piece of Thai culture that I can forever take with me.