Tom Kha Gai

- Serves 4
​Tom Kha Gai is a a rich and creamy Thai soup made using chicken and galangal simmered in creamy coconut milk, but it’s not just galangal that flavors the silky, smooth liquid. It’s the herbaceous blend of coriander root, shallots, garlic and kaffir lime peel, slowly pounded away in a mortar and pestle that make this flavorsome soup even more special. 

In Thailand, this dish is eaten more like a curry poured over steamed rice, than a soup. My recipe below is simple and can be made with a handful of everyday staples plus your pack of mixed Thai herbs (galangal, lemongrass, shallots, lime, chilies and lime leaves), which can easily be found in the international section of most large supermarkets these days. If you can’t find bumpy kaffir lime, simply replace its peel with some regular lime zest plus finely chopped kaffir lime leaves. The recipe itself is super-simple, ready within minutes and a real keeper.

Ingredients for Tom Kha Gai

3 cups light coconut milk
2 tablespoons thinly sliced galangal
2 stalks lemon grass, bottom thick white part – thinly sliced 
10 ribbed kaffir lime leaves
1 can straw mushrooms, drained and halved
1 cup sliced chicken breast or chicken thighs
4 crushed Thai bird eye chilies (or 2 red chili padi), chopped
1 teaspoon white sugar
4 tablespoons fish sauce
4 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
1/4 cup coriander leaves
Kreung Kaeng (herbs)
1 teaspoon coriander roots, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons slivered kaffir lime peel or (1 teaspoon lime zest plus 1/2 teaspoon chopped kaffir lime leaves chopped)

Recipe
  1. Pound herbs in a mortar and pestle until fine and well blended.
  2. Heat coconut milk in a saucepan, add galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, mushrooms and pounded herbs.
  3. Once coconut milk comes to a boil, add chicken and cook on low flame for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.
  4. Pound chopped chilies in a mortar and pestle. Season soup with white sugar, fish sauce, and pounded chilies. Stir well. Finally, take it off the heat and add lime juice – stir.
  5. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot.
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