Tom kha gai (coconut chicken soup)
A silky coconut and chicken soup infused with lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves, with mushrooms and a sour-salty kick of lime and fish sauce.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Serves
- 2
- Per serve
- 620 kcal
Ingredients
Method
Bring the stock to a boil in a medium saucepan, covered, over high heat. Meanwhile, bash the lemongrass with the back of a knife and cut it into 2-inch pieces, slice the galangal and tear the lime leaves.
Add the lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves and chiles to the stock and simmer to infuse while you slice the chicken and mushrooms.
Pour in the coconut milk and bring back to a gentle simmer; a hard boil can make it split. Add the chicken and mushrooms and simmer until the chicken is cooked through with no pink inside.
Take off the heat and stir in the fish sauce, sugar and lime juice. Taste: it should be creamy, sour and salty with a little sweetness. Add more lime or fish sauce if needed.
Ladle into bowls and top with cilantro. The lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves flavor the soup but aren't for eating, so fish them out or eat around them.
Tips
- Galangal looks like ginger but tastes piney and citrusy; Asian grocers sell it fresh or frozen. Ginger works but gives a warmer, spicier soup.
- Add the lime juice off the heat; boiling it dulls the fresh sourness.
- Serve with a little jasmine rice on the side to make it more filling.
