Tom Kha Gai Soup Recipe
Creamy, spicy, and slightly sour, this homemade Tom Kha Gai soup features a comforting coconut milk broth flavored with rich aromatics like lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, shallots, fish sauce, and fresh lime juice.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Makes: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- 2 shallots , peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 " galangal root , sliced
- 1 lemongrass stalk , chopped
- 5 large kaffir lime leaves
- 2 rounded tablespoons red curry paste
- 7 cups chicken stock (homemade is best)
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts , thinly sliced
- 2 1/2 cups full-fat coconut milk
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 oz palm sugar (or sub coconut sugar or brown sugar)
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms , quartered
- 3/4 lb raw medium shrimp peeled, tails removed, and deveined (optional)
- 1/3 cup heavy cream (optional)
- fresh lime juice
- salt to taste
- chopped cilantro
- chili oil (optional)
Instructions
- In a 4 quart heavy bottomed pot, add the oil and turn the heat to medium. Once the oil is warm, add the shallots, lemongrass, and galangal, and cook for 2- 3 minutes, until the shallots start to soften. Add the kaffir lime leaves and curry paste and cook for 2 minutes, until the curry paste is fragrant. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer for 20 minutes.
- Once the chicken broth has reduced by a bit, use a slotted spoon to remove the galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves. Add the chicken, coconut milk, heavy cream, palm sugar, and fish sauce and bring to a gentle simmer.
- After about 20 minutes, the chicken should be cooked through. At this stage, the mushrooms can be added directly to the soup but I actually like to sauté them in a cast iron with a little oil first to brown them, it's entirely up to you! If you're using shrimp, add them in with the mushrooms and simmer for another 4-5 minutes. Season the soup to taste with salt and lime juice (I personally like lots of lime juice).
- Ladle the soup into bowls, topped with chopped cilantro and chili oil, if desired.
Notes
This soup doesn't normally have shrimp in it, but I like to add it for extra protein and flavor.
See notes in the blog post above on where to source ingredients.
I like to add heavy cream to the soup for extra creaminess. This is how I did it back in my restaurant days. This is not traditional and it's totally optional.
