Tom Kha Gai Coconut Chicken Soup 🥥🍋

Description

Classic Thai tom kha gai with silky coconut broth, tender chicken, mushrooms, galangal, lemongrass, and kaffir lime, finished with lime for that clean hot sour creamy balance that tastes instantly premium. 🌿

Hook ✨

If you want the Thai soup that feels like a five star restaurant bowl but is actually simple, tom kha gai is pure aromatic coconut luxury with bright lime precision. ✨

Ingredients

• Broth aromatics
• 🌿 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised and cut (2)
• 🫚 30 g galangal, sliced, or ginger (1 oz)
• 🍃 6 kaffir lime leaves, torn (6)
• 🧄 12 g garlic, smashed (4 cloves / 0.4 oz)
• 🧅 80 g shallots, halved (¾ cup / 2.8 oz)
• 🌶️ 1–2 Thai chilies, bruised, optional (1–2)
• Soup base
• 🥥 800 ml coconut milk, full fat (3⅓ cups / 27 fl oz)
• 💧 400 ml chicken stock or water (1⅔ cups / 13.5 fl oz)
• 🌶️ 30 g red curry paste (2 tbsp / 1.1 oz)
• 🍯 10 ml sugar syrup, optional (2 tsp / 0.34 fl oz)
• Chicken and vegetables
• 🍗 500 g chicken thighs, thin slices (1.1 lb)
• 🍄 250 g mushrooms, sliced (3 cups / 8.8 oz)
• 🍅 200 g cherry tomatoes, halved, optional (1½ cups / 7 oz)
• Seasoning and finish
• 🥣 45 ml fish sauce (3 tbsp / 1.5 fl oz)
• 🍋 60 ml lime juice (¼ cup / 2 fl oz)
• 🌿 15 g cilantro (1 cup / 0.5 oz)
• 🌿 10 g Thai basil, optional (1 cup / 0.35 oz)
• 🍋 1 lime, wedges (1)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Bloom the curry
2. In a pot on medium heat, whisk red curry paste into 120 ml (½ cup / 4 fl oz) coconut milk for 60 sec until glossy and fragrant, do not scorch. 🌶️
3. 2️⃣ Build the aromatic broth
4. Add stock or water, lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves, garlic, shallots, and optional chilies, simmer gently 8 min. 🌿
5. 3️⃣ Add the coconut
6. Pour in remaining coconut milk and bring back to a calm simmer, do not boil hard. 🥥
7. 4️⃣ Cook the chicken
8. Add sliced chicken and simmer 6–7 min until just cooked and tender. 🍗
9. 5️⃣ Add mushrooms
10. Add mushrooms and optional tomatoes, simmer 3 min until tender but still plump. 🍄
11. 6️⃣ Season the depth
12. Stir in fish sauce and optional sugar syrup, simmer 1 min, taste the salt balance now. 🥣
13. 7️⃣ Turn off heat for lime
14. Turn off heat, then stir in lime juice so the citrus stays bright and clean. 🍋
15. 8️⃣ Finish with herbs
16. Add cilantro and optional Thai basil, rest 1 min for aroma, then serve with lime wedges. 🌿

Total Time

⏱️ Prep: 12 min
🔥 Cook/Bake: 18 min
🛋️ Rest: 1 min
⏰ Total: 31 min

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