Thai Chicken Coconut Soup
Submitted by Chef Guru
Creamy coconut soup with chicken, tofu, mushrooms, lemongrass, galangal, and fresh lime. A warming Thai classic (tom kha gai) that comes together in one pot.
YIELD
2 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
30 minREADY
45 minFew soups on earth hit as many flavor notes in a single spoonful as tom kha gai.
This version keeps things beautifully simple: coconut milk simmers with lemongrass, galangal, serrano chiles, and a generous squeeze of lime, then gets loaded up with chicken, tofu, mushrooms, and grated carrot.
The broth ends up silky, fragrant, and alive with that Thai trifecta of sour, salty, and spicy.
Finish with fresh cilantro and scallions, then taste and adjust. The recipe’s original advice says it best: “it always needs more limes."
Kitchen Tips
- Drop the lemongrass stalks into a tea ball or cheesecloth pouch so you can fish them out easily before serving.
- Start with fewer chiles and build up the heat gradually. You can always add more, but you can’t take it back.
- Full-fat coconut milk gives the richest, most velvety broth. Light coconut milk works but the soup will be thinner.
- This reheats well, but add a fresh squeeze of lime when you warm it up to brighten the flavors again.
Ingredients
Directions
Heat the coconut milk in a pot.
Add everything else.
As the lemon grass is inedible, put it in a tea ball and immerse the ball in the soup so you can retrieve it later.
Cook until the chicken is done and the soup is hot (30 minutes).
Taste to see if it needs more limes (it always does) or more hot peppers (it’s better to start mild and build up to the desired level of spicyness).
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