This is my most favourite soup in the whole world. If ever you go out for Thai food and you don’t know what to get, tom kha gai is a safe choice that everyone loves. The creamy rich sweet and tangy coconut broth, infused with lemongrass and kaffir lime and humming with a hint of red chili is simply good enough to eat on its own. Add in tender chicken and plump mushrooms which soak up all the yummy flavours and you will be just as addicted to this soup as I am.
My sister, our friend and I went to one of my favourite restaurants while we were in Edmonton. Syphay specializes in Thai and Laos cuisine and I am endlessly striving to emulate their amazing Tom Kha Gai. Since we returned I’ve made this soup 2 times, learning along the way the perfect balance of sweet, sour, spicy and creamy which this soup is so famous for. Often I become obsessed with certain dishes until I get them just right, part of this blog is that it forces me to create a document of recipes which I won’t ever be able to lose. Cause yeah, I’m kinda disorganized like that. I love this soup alongside a thai curry and jasmine rice, or just as a simple lunch. It’s perfect served with a wedge of lime, chopped cilantro, sprouts, and maybe a heaped spoonful of chile sauce, or maybe not. I may or may not have made this before on the blog, but it’s slightly different, I know I’m obsessed,I’ll get over it once I make Tom Kha 10 more times this cold month of January.
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into small chunks
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 2 small garlic cloves, minced
- 1 thumb galangal, sliced OR ginger, sliced
- 2 lemongrass stalks, chopped in larger pieces OR 1 Tbs lemongrass paste
- 1-3 thai red chiles, finely chopped, depending on how spicy you like it
- 1 Tbs fish sauce
- 1 tsp fresh lime juice
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 Tbs coconut sugar
- 3 kaffir lime leaves
- 8 C chicken broth
- 1 can coconut milk
- 2 C button mushrooms, quartered
- handful chopped cilantro
- handful chopped green onion
- sprouts
- In a large pot melt coconut oil and add garlic, chiles,lemongrass,fish sauce and chicken.
- When garlic starts to brown slightly, add lime juice, salt, sugar, lime leaves and chicken broth.
- Let this simmer for 15 minutes. Add mushrooms and coconut milk in the last 5 minutes.
- serve with lime, cilantro, green onion and sprouts
