Today I am preparing a mouth-watering Tom Kha Gai or Thai coconut chicken soup. This dish will guarantee to tantalize your taste buds with its delectable flavor and aroma.

Contrary to popular belief, not all Thai dishes are spicy, and Tom Kha Gai is a perfect example. Although I use a mix of local spices such as galangal and lemongrass, the soup is not fiery hot. The color is not red like other spicy soups, assuring you that this soup is milder and more soothing.

The flavor results from combining Thai ingredients such as galangal, lemongrass, and creamy coconut milk, giving it a rich and velvety mouthfeel and a blast of authentic flavor that fires up all senses.

This soup is a staple in most Thai restaurants I have visited, and it’s not hard to see why. Let me show you how to make it in this article.

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How to make Thai coconut chicken soup (Tom Kha Gai soup)

The preparation of this Thai soup is relatively straightforward. The challenge is not how to cook it but to get all the necessary ingredients before you start.

The Thai name has already given you a hint of what is required- Tom is soup, Kha is galangal, and Gai is chicken. 

As the name implies, the flavor is from galangal. It looks like fresh ginger, but it’s not. Ginger is not a substitute for galangal. If fresh galangal isn’t available, use the frozen one, which works just as well. You can even use dried ones as an alternative. The best bet is to check out the Asian market near you and hopes they keep the stock.

1. Preparation of the ingredients

Let me start by explaining how to prepare some of the unique ingredients.

a. The more specific ingredients:

• Lemongrass. Cut off both ends of the lemongrass, then remove the sheath. The useable part of the lemongrass stalk is the slightly off-white center part. First, bash it with the back of the knife to release the flavor more efficiently during cooking. Then, cut it into sections of about an inch.
• Galangal. Wash the galangal thoroughly, as it may contain some mud. You can remove or leave the skin intact, as it is unimportant. After that, cut the galangal into thin slices.
• Chilies. Wash a few Thai bird’s eye chilies and bash with the knife’s spine. I only use three chilies in this recipe, which is less spicy. You can adjust the number of chilies accordingly.
• Kaffir lime leaves. Cut the kaffir lime leaves into smaller pieces if there are too big. They have a different aroma than lime, an essential ingredient in Thai food.

b. Other ingredients

• Onions. Cut a large onion into small chunks.
• Tomato. You also need a large tomato. Cut it into 8 to 10 pieces.
• Mushroom and chicken. Now it comes to the essential ingredients in the soup, mushroom, and chicken.
• As for the mushroom, I prefer to use shimeiji mushrooms. Button mushrooms and king oyster mushrooms are equally suitable. However, I do not use dry shiitake mushrooms because the flavor is too overpowering.
• I am using chicken fillet for the recipe today. Another popular choice is boneless chicken thigh meat, which is relatively tender. If you prefer to use chicken breast, I would suggest adding it only later, as prolonged cooking of chicken breast meat will make it tough. Cut the chicken meat into bite-sized thin slices.

2. Other spices and seasonings

Now let’s look at the remaining ingredients in the easy recipe. 

• Chicken broth. The soup will taste much better if you cook it with quality chicken stock. I prefer to make chicken stock by boiling the chicken bones in water. It is much better than store-bought chicken broth or chicken stock, as those commercially available items are usually added with other ingredients or seasonings that you may want to exclude from the recipe. Of course, if you prefer a more straightforward way of making this Thai coconut chicken soup, go ahead and use any store-bought chicken broth.
• Palm sugar. You also notice I added some palm sugar as part of the seasonings. However, the quantity is relatively small and mainly balances the sourness of the lime juice. Therefore, if you do not have palm sugar, go ahead with brown sugar or any sugar you choose.
• Fish sauce. The saltiness of the soup comes from the salt itself and the fish sauce. However, if I use fish sauce as the only source of saltiness, it will be too overpowering. Therefore I added a little salt and reduced the fish sauce in this recipe.
• Coconut cream. You may wonder why the soup is white if you first try this dish. The color is due to fresh coconut cream instead of regular milk. It is produced by extracting from the shredded coconut. You can feel the freshness if you use freshly pressed coconut cream. Fresh coconut cream is readily available in wet markets or large grocery stores in Malaysia.  A good substitute is the coconut milk in Tetra Pack. Make ensure you get full-fat coconut milk with 20 to 25% fat. Since it is also translated as coconut milk by some manufacturers, you have to be careful when you purchase it by not mistakenly buying the one that is supposed to use as a drink. Coconut milk for drinking contains other ingredients, and the amount of fat is much reduced. Therefore, they are not suitable for making coconut chicken soup.
• Lime juice. Lastly, you also need some lime juice. Again, you may use lemon juice as a substitute, although it may not be as authentic as freshly pressed lime juice.
• The final two ingredients in the recipe, fresh cilantro (coriander leaves) and spring onions (green onions), are essentially for garnishing. Therefore, they should be chopped and added to the soup before serving.

3. Steps to cook the Thai coconut chicken soup

The process is quite straightforward as long as you have everything in hand. Assuming you have already washed, cut, and portioned all the ingredients and seasoning, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how to prepare the soup from start to finish.

1. First, bring the chicken stock to a boil.
2. Next, add the bashed lemongrass, chilies, galangal slices, and onions chunks. Let them boil for a few minutes to release the flavor.
3. Add the kaffir lime leaves, bashed bird’s eye chilies, and the chicken slices and simmer over low heat until cooked.
4. Also, include the tomato and mushrooms at this stage. Cook over low to medium heat until the mushrooms are cooked, and the tomato is soft.
5. Season the soup with palm sugar, salt, and fish sauce.
6. Lastly, add the fresh lime juice and turn off the heat. You should add the lime juice right before serving for the best flavor.
7. Add the chopped coriander leaves, spring onions, and lime wedges as garnish. 

The Thai coconut soup has a strong flavor and is best served with jasmine rice or rice noodles.

This Thai coconut soup recipe does not require red curry paste. As a result, the color of the soup is white instead of red. However, you can add some chili peppers if you prefer.

Make a vegan Thai coconut soup

You can omit the chicken and follow these steps to change it to a vegetarian soup. Of course, it will no longer be called Tom Kha Gai, since Gai means chicken.

1. Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
2. Substitute soy sauce for the fish sauce.
3. Add a 1-pound block of tofu, cubed into bite-sized pieces, instead of chicken.

Storage

• Tom kha gai is a fantastic soup to prepare in advance since it keeps and reheats well. It can be kept for a week in the refrigerator. 
• You can even keep it in a freezer-safe container should you want to keep it for a few weeks.

Related recipes

If you like Thai cooking, you may also want to try other Thai recipes on this food blog:

• Tom Yum Soup has a bold, citrusy, and savory flavor. You will feel the bursting taste of the fresh Thai herbs with a pop of spicy heat lingering in your mouth. Try it if you can take more spicy food than coconut chicken soup.
• Vietnamese pork chops (Thit Heo Nuong Xa) are easy to prepare, full of unique lemongrass flavor, and hardly go wrong. Follow this recipe and try it yourself.