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Tom kha gai, or Thai coconut chicken soup, is a spicy and sour hot soup made with coconut milk. The heat comes from chili-garlic sauce and the sour from the lime juice. You can use thinly sliced chicken or cubed tofu for a vegan version!
While I was pregnant with my daughter, I craved Thai food all the time. There’s just something about a crisp, crunchy spring roll and a big bowl of hot steamy soup. I would get carried away while placing my order and end up with so much food. I had to get spring rolls, edamame, pad thai, and my favorite soup, tom kha gai. I would eat a couple of bites of each and then be so full I couldn’t eat anymore. Oh, the woes of a pregnant lady.
I still love Thai food just as much today as I did when I was pregnant and order it frequently! But it is expensive. So I did a little research and found out that it’s not so hard to make tom kha gai at home with simple ingredients.
You can use either chicken or tofu for a vegan version. You’ll have to use veggie broth too. I actually prefer the tofu version because the tofu is nice and soft and soaks up the flavor of the broth. No need to press the tofu beforehand!
If you do make the chicken version, you want to thinly slice the chicken breasts. As thin as possible. You want them to be thin enough so they’ll cook through while simmering in the broth! Some recipes for tom kha soup have more elaborate ingredients like lemongrass. But I’ve skipped that today since it can be a little hard to find for some.
Here’s the recipe for Tom Kha Gai:
You can also find these recipes on the Mealime app!
Spicy Thai Coconut Soup (Tom Kha) with Chicken
- Author: Emily Weeks, RDN, LD
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 1x
Print Recipe
Description
Tom kha gai, or Thai coconut chicken soup, is a spicy and sour hot soup made with coconut milk. The heat comes from chili-garlic sauce, and the sour from the lime juice.
Scale
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp virgin coconut oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced into half rings
- 2 inch piece ginger root, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp chili-garlic sauce
- 48 fl oz (6 cups) chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 (13.5 fl oz) can coconut milk
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 lb white mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 ½ lb chicken breasts, boneless skinless, sliced into thin strips
- 1 lime
- 1 small bunch green onions, sliced
- 1 small bunch cilantro, minced
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium heat. Once the pot is hot, add oil and swirl to coat the bottom.
- Add onion, ginger, garlic, and chili-garlic sauce to the pot. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion begins to soften, 3-4 minutes.
- Add broth, coconut milk, sugar, fish sauce, and salt to the pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer.
- Add mushrooms and chicken to the pot and continue to simmer until chicken is cooked through, 10-12 minutes.
- When the soup is done, juice lime into the pot and stir to combine.
- To serve, divide soup between bowls. Top with green onions and cilantro.
Here’s the vegan version:
Spicy Thai Coconut Soup (Tom Kha) with Tofu
- Author: Emily Weeks, RDN, LD
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 1x
Print Recipe
Description
Tom kha tofu, or Thai coconut tofu soup, is a spicy and sour hot soup made with coconut milk. The heat comes from chili-garlic sauce, and the sour from the lime juice.
Scale
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp virgin coconut oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, small diced
- 2 inch piece ginger root, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp chili-garlic sauce
- 32 fl oz (4 cups) vegetable broth
- 2 (13.5 fl oz) cans coconut milk
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 lb white mushrooms, sliced
- 1 (12 oz) pkg extra firm tofu, drained and small diced (no need to press)
- 1 lime
- 1 small bunch green onions (scallions), sliced
- 1 small bunch cilantro, minced
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium heat. Once the pot is hot, add oil and swirl to coat the bottom.
- Add onion, ginger, garlic, and chili-garlic sauce to the pot. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion begins to soften, 3-4 minutes.
- Add broth, coconut milk, sugar, and salt to the pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer.
- Add mushrooms and tofu to the pot and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
- When the soup is done, juice lime into the pot and stir to combine.
- To serve, divide soup between bowls. Top with green onions and cilantro.
- Category: vegan
