Authentic Tom Kha Gai Recipe. Chicken, Coconut, Lemongrass Soup How to Make

Just a preface, I’m more of an eyeballer / taste while cooking cook. So apologies in advance if you are a precise measurer. The good news is this soup can be forgiving so you can mix and match without having exact quantities. I did my best to explain portions from an eyeballed perspective. But this soup is amazing, I hope you enjoy!

Learn How to Bring the Taste of Thai Tom Kha Gai (Chicken Coconut Soup) to your Table

If you have ever been lucky enough to try Tom Kha Gai commonly known as Chicken Lemongrass Soup with Coconut than you know how delicious and explosively flavorful this soup is. It combines the symphony of flavors in your mouth with bursts of salty, sweet, sour, spicy along with richness. So lets start off with all the ingredients you will need to start making Tom Kha Gai. I got this recipe when I was in Buriram, Thailand from the locals, I instantly fell in love with the soup and absolutely had to have the recipe. Now I would love to share it with you.

Tom Kha Gai Ingredients List

To get started you will need the following ingredients, some will require you to go to an asian or ethnic store as your main grocers won’t carry some of these ingredients.

• Package of 2 – 4 Chicken Breasts (or Thighs, Drumsticks / Tenderloins if you prefer dark meat)
• 3-4 Cups of White Jasmine Rice (sub Brown rice if you prefer)
• Galanga – A root similar to ginger but with a completely different taste / smell
• Mushrooms – I prefer shiitake mushrooms or white button mushrooms (optional if you don’t like shrooms)
• 1 Large white onion
• 1-2 Tomatoes Sliced into wedges (I prefer Roma tomatoes) (optional)
• 1 Bunch of cilantro
• 1 Bunch of lemongrass (with 3 stalks minimum in the bunch)
• Kaffir Lime Leaves (Package of about 3-4 leaves per gallon)
• Chicken Broth or Knorr Chicken Flavored Boullion
• A couple celery stalks
• Can of coconut milk – I prefer Arroy-D
• Sugar
• Fish Sauce – I prefer 3 crabs brand you won’t be left with fishy breath or fish “burps” it adds a nice body and saltiness
• Magma Brand Spice – You can’t have Thai Food without some Thai Heat!

Instructions on Making Tom Kha Gai – Chicken Coconut Soup with Lemongrass

So for me, I like to make a large batch that I can eat for a couple days, because it’s so good and I only make it about 4-6 times a year. I recommend you do the same, but if you are cooking for just you and a friend or partner maybe cut these ingredients in half.

Start off with a stainless steel pot at least 4 quarts, I use a 12 quart one since I put at least 2-3 gallons of water in to make a large batch.

Boil the Water and Add the Lemongrass, Galangal, Celery

Boil the water and add cut up stalks of celery, galanga root and lemongrass. Tear the Kaffir lime leaves in half and add. I like a strong lemongrass flavor so I put 1 to 2 cut stalks per gallon of water. And a full galanga root cut in slices.

Place the cut up celery, galangal, lemongrass in the pot of boiling water, turn off heat and let the herbs simmer in the hot water much like you would do with tea until the water cools a bit. All the great flavors will begin to release into the water and your whole house will smell amazing.

Get the Rice Cooker Going

In the meantime rinse your rice and start your rice cooker, so your jasmine rice is ready to go once the rest of the steps are done.

Prep the Chicken, Onions, Mushrooms, Cilantro

While your soup broth is absorbing all those amazing flavors and oils, you can begin slicing your chicken into bite size pieces. Chopping your cilantro. Removing the stems from the mushrooms and slicing those into quarters and slicing your onion. Some people prefer to slice the onions, I like to cut the onion in half horizontally and in half again vertically, and then slice it so it looks like the image below.

Bring the Galangal, Lemongrass and Celery to a Boil Once More

To get all that flavor out, get the water to a rolling boil one more time and then either strain all the bits out with a strainer or use a ladle with strainer. (I like to use one like this)

Add the Chicken Broth or Bouillon, Chicken, Mushrooms and Onions

There are a couple optional ways to do things here, but the rule of thumb is 2 cups of chicken broth per gallon of water or 2 tablespoons of bouillon per gallon, but with health and sodium you can add more or less based on your preference. Once I add the chicken broth, I put in the chicken and add the mushrooms. I like to sample the broth after a couple minutes to see if the broth is the right saltiness and body. (Remember at the end the fish sauce will add quite a bit of body and sodium to the soup). The chicken will cause some foaming in which I use a mesh strainer to scoop out the froth, if you don’t like to do it this way you can boil the chicken separately and strain. Either way boil the chicken for around 8-10 minutes (until it’s white all the way through) add the onions last and turn off heat.

Prep the Soup Bowls with Remaining Ingredients

I used to add the fish sauce to the actual soup broth but I found it much more conservative to add it directly to each bowl. I put about 2 tablespoons in a large Asian soup bowl. (Like these)

I like a lot of lime so I squeeze a half a lime in the bowl, about a 1/4 cup of Arroy-D coconut milk, a few tomato wedges, 5-10 chopped cilantro leaves, 1 teaspoon of sugar and put about a teaspoon of Magma asian chili seasoning in the bottom of the bowl. Along with 2-3 scoops of white jasmine rice (depending on how hungry I am). But if you want less or more sodium / sour / spice add more or less depending on your preferences.

Ladle in the broth, chicken, mushrooms and onions.

With all the goodies at the bottom of the bowl (cilantro, coconut milk, magma spice, lime juice and fish sauce) ladle in a couple servings of broth with some chicken pieces, mushrooms and onions. And your Tom Kha Gai is ready to be served / eaten.