A delicious and super flavorful Tom Kha Gai Recipe using authentic Thai flavors, but bulked up with lots of veggies. Serve this Thai coconut chicken soup with rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice to keep it low carb. I love it all on it’s own!
Adore Thai flavors? You’ll also love this Thai Chicken Satay and this Thai Red Curry Soup with Zoodles.
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A Healthy Tom Kha Gai
What’s not to love about Thai food? Full of amazing, complex flavors, that also happen to have anti inflammatory properties.
Tom Kha Gai is something I always order when I go out for Thai food. The creamy coconut milk base infused with ginger, kaffir lime, and shallots is irresistible.
The restaurant version is mostly chicken, a few mushrooms, and then a lot of aromatics that you pick out as you eat it. This version uses some other vegetables commonly used in Thai cooking to make it more of a meal.
I serve this on it’s own. Add rice, quinoa, or coconut rice, depending on your family’s needs!
What does Tom Kha Gai translate to?
Tom Kha Gai translates to “Chicken Soup with Galangal.” Galangal is a root similar to ginger with a brighter citrus flavor. It gives the depth of flavor to this popular Thai coconut milk soup.
Ingredients in Tom Kha Gai
- Chicken – use very thinly sliced chicken breasts or chicken thighs. Either work fine here!
- Avocado or Sesame Oil
- Galangal or Fresh Ginger (Galangal is a Thai root similar to ginger but with a distinct flavor and more woody texture. If you can not find galangal, ginger is great here!)
- Lemongrass Stalks (often specialty grocers will have fresh lemongrass)
- Thai shallots (Thai shallots are small and extra potent. If you can’t find them, use regular shallots or sub garlic.)
- Chicken Broth (or vegetable broth)
- Veggies – traditionally, Tom Kha Gai has mushrooms, and possibly some tomato slices. This version has carrots, asparagus, and lots of oyster mushrooms or shitake mushrooms to bulk it up and make it a more balanced meal. Sugar snap peas and green beans are also great additions.
- Fish Sauce
- Red Chilis – it’s very difficult to find red chilis in the US outside of Asian markets, so if you can’t find red Thai chilis, just use a spicy sauce like sriracha to add some heat.
- Coconut milk – For the freshest flavor, order Thai Coconut Milk online or find it in a paper carton at an Asian import store.
- Kaffir Lime Leaves (buy dried online, also called Markut Lime Leaves)
- Lime Wedges (or some lime juice)
- Cilantro (to garnish, optional)
- Green Onions (to garnish, optional)
How to Make Paleo Tom Kha Gai
This soup is fairly easy and quick to make. The most important part is preparing your ingredients so they are easy to eat as a soup.
Step 1: Chop the lemongrass stalks into 2-inch pieces, and then smash with the side of a knife to begin releasing the oils. Peel and very thinly slice the galangal or ginger root. Mince the shallots.
Into a large pot, add the oil, and stir fry the aromatics over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.
Step 2: Add water and vegetable broth, and simmer the ginger, lemongrass, and shallots for about 20 minutes. This will make the broth flavorful. Do not be tempted to replace the evaporated water. Coconut milk will be added soon, and it will replace the liquid and ensure the flavors are rich.
Step 3: Add the chicken, and boil to poach the chicken, which should only take about 5 minutes.
Step 4: Add the carrots and allow them to soften for about 5 minutes.
Step 5: Add the coconut milk, along with the mushrooms, and asparagus. Bring to a low simmer and allow the veggies to cook about 3 minutes.
Step 6: While the veggies are cooking in the broth, further season your soup with kaffir lime leaves, chilis or chili sauce, and salt. Add a couple of tablespoons of fish sauce to taste to enhance the salty flavor. Fresh lime juice also enhances to sour flavor, or simply serve the soup with lime wedges.
How to Serve Authentic Tom Kha Gai
This version of the soup is kept simple and a bit healthier than a traditional restaurant version, but packs in the best flavors and ingredients in a more balanced version.
In Thailand, the soup is served with steamed rice as an appetizer. Spoon the flavorful broth over the rice and enjoy it as it soaks in the flavor.
I sometimes serve this soup with quinoa or steamed rice, but it would be great with cauliflower rice as well.
If you love this soup as much as we do, make a double batch! The leftovers on the 2nd day are even better than the first day, as the flavors continue to come out in the broth.
Other Thai Style Recipes
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Tom Kha Gai
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1/2 cup ginger peeled and very thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup Thai shallots or sub any shallot
- 3 stalks lemongrass cut into 1 inch pieces
- 5 cups water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable bouillon I use Rapunzel (great flavor)
- 2 chicken breasts or thighs, sliced into small pieces
- 1 carrot peeled and sliced
- 2 cups asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 cups mushrooms sliced
- 2 15 ounce coconut milk full fat, canned
- 4 kaffir lime leaves torn (if available)*
- 1-2 tablespoons paleo fish sauce optional
- 1-3 teaspoons paleo sriracha sauce or use sliced red Thai chilis
- sea salt to taste
- lime wedges to garnish
- cilantro to garnish
Instructions
- After peeling, very thinly slice the ginger. This helps the flavor come out, and also allows the ginger to become soft so it can be eaten along with the soup. The shallots need peeled, and can be roughly sliced or diced. To prepare the lemongrass, cut it into 1 inch sections, and "smash" it with the side of a knife to start releasing the oils.
- Add the avocado oil to a pot over medium heat, and add the ginger, lemongrass, and shallots. Saute for about 5 minutes to start releasing the flavors.
- Add the water and vegetable bouillon, and gently boil for about 20 minutes. Do not replace the water that evaporates. Adding the coconut milk will add more volume without diluting the flavors of the soup.
- Add the thinly sliced chicken, and allow it to poach in the broth for about 5 minutes.
- Add the carrots, asparagus, and mushrooms, and continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes. While the soup is finishing, add the chili sauce or chilis, salt, and optional fish sauce (I omit the fish sauce most often) to taste. Add additional water if the soup is too thick for your tastes. If you have access to kaffir lime leaves, gently tear them to start releasing the oils and let them simmer along with the vegetables.
- Serve garnished with lime wedges and cilantro. This soup is great served with steamed rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice.
It’s a fine recipe, with well written instructions. I got a chuckle, however, that you didn’t use or mention galangal, which is the featured aromatic (i.e., the “kha”) in Tom Kha Gai. A Tom Kha Gai recipe without the galangal would comes across to a native Thai like a Lemon Chicken recipe that doesn’t even mention lemon!
I wouldn’t worry too much about the availability of galangal. In my experience, many Asian groceries nowadays carry it. For the sake of authenticity, it seems well worth the effort to find it. Thai shallots and kaffir lime leaves, by contrast, are much harder to find. Substituting a half-cup of sliced ginger for galangal gives the soup an entirely different flavor.
On a personal note, I admire your success in achieving a more healthy diet and exercise lifestyle. Your positive attitude and excellent example can be a priceless gift to your child!
You are right – I will update the post with the use of galangal. I actually have never seen it in the US so use ginger, but did use it when I was living in Asia. I buy kaffir lime leaves dry (a $10 package on Amazon lasts a year!). Thanks for stopping by! I hope you find more recipes helpful.
Excellent and authentic! This is the only version I make now!