Just Thai To Resist This Soup 🥣
I love 💕 Thai soup! This Thai Coconut Soup with Chicken is filled with all the flavors I love and tastes like it came from my favorite Thai restaurant. I’m fairly new at making Thai at home, and I can’t always find the authentic ingredients. This Thai Coconut Soup with Chicken is incredibly delicious, and I guarantee, you will love it and without having to hunt down the ingredients in specialty stores or on-line.
Back-In-The-Day
There was the most incredible Thai take out restaurant a group of my friends (Chris, Richard and our posse of merrymakers!) used to frequent a very, very, very long time ago. Just a little stand, converted from something that was, at one time, (probably) a hot dog stand into this Thai-to-go pick up joint. It was so good! I recently learned it’s still there too! It’s “Vic’s Food To Go”. My cousin Julia and her husband Chris are fans of the place too, and still go there. I found that out when I saw a post on Facebook.
Once we ordered our usual (and my friends have no fear of the heat, trust me on that note!) and one of my friends shared some with her little one. It was so hot, she ran to the bathtub and turned it on to get some water. We asked her, “why did you run to the bathtub for the water and not to the kitchen for water?” She said “that was so hot, I needed a really big drink of water!”
Thai Coconut Soup
Thai Coconut Soup is not an especially spicy soup. You control the level of heat with the Thai Chili Paste. It adds a unique flavor to this dish, so don’t skip it. Check the labels too. The paste comes in various degrees of heat. I used 3 teaspoons and it was perfect. This soup is wonderfully creamy from the coconut milk, a little sweet with lots of tart from the lime or the galangal. I promise you, this is a super easy to make and you will get that flavor you’re looking for, it’s positively delish!
The Ingredients
Thai Coconut Soup is called Tom Kha Gai. It is a total flavor bomb! The ingredients that are in the authentic version that I am substituting kaffir lime leaves for lime peel/zest. Another traditional ingredient is galangal. That’s a flavor similar to ginger, but close enough that I can make the substitute without doing too much damage to the original. If you want to use galangal, you can buy it on Amazon or other specialty stores. In the written recipe, I will give each option, so you can make it anyway that’s easiest or best for you. Either way, you can’t go wrong with this soup.
The Mushrooms Make It Magical
As far as the mushrooms go, you can use almost any type you like best. Whenever I enjoy this soup in restaurants, they make it with straw mushrooms. We find them easily dried, but they also come in cans. Try it with oyster mushrooms (my favorite!) shiitake, etc.
The Recipe
If you are using dried mushrooms, soak them in warm to hot water for 30-60 minutes, then drain the liquid.
Into a medium saute pan, add 2 whole, skinless, boneless chicken breasts. Cover with 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth and let the meat cook on low, about 45-60 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked through, pour the rest of the cooking liquid into the pot with the soup. Using a couple of forks, shred the chicken. Set aside until it’s time to add it to the soup.
Slow poaching chicken
Into a large, heavy bottomed pot, add 4 cups of chicken stock plus the cooking liquid from the poached chicken. Peel a 3 inch piece of fresh ginger and then cut it into 4 strips and put it into the stock (use an equal amount of dried galangal if that’s what you are using).
Add 3-4 dried or fresh kaffir lime leaves or substitute the zest of 5 large limes. Add 3 large peeled and smashed cloves of garlic. Next, add 2 stalks of lemon grass that you’ve smashed with a knife to open. Use the white part only and discard the rest.
Let the mixture simmer on low heat, about 10-15 minutes to allow the flavors to penetrate into the broth.
You Add The Lime to the Coconut Milk
You can use full fat or low-fat coconut milk. I actually prefer this soup with the lite coconut milk. Add 2 cans to the broth and stir very gently to combine. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar, 2 1/2 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce. Thai fish sauce is easy to find in most grocery stores. If you don’t have any, you can substitute the same measure of Worcestershire sauce. Add the juice of the 5 limes you zested and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper, or to taste. If you like your soup with a bit more heat, add 3 teaspoons (more or less) of Thai red chili paste.
Next, add the mushrooms, shredded chicken and 3 tablespoons of freshly chopped cilantro. Stir to combine and heat another 5 minutes.
Serving Ideas
Serve this soup, remove the kaffir leaves first and remind others not to eat any of the galangal (it’s hard and usually left at the bottom of the bowl or put aside) and the large strips of ginger are not appealing either, but typically, found in the bowl of soup.
You can also serve this soup in a bowl over short grain sticky rice. It’s delicious either way! Top with a bit more fresh cilantro and some lime wedges. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 5 1/2 cups chicken broth, divided
- zest and juice of 5 limes (or substitute 4 kaffir lime leaves plus the lime juice)
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 3 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced in 4 strips
- 2 stalks lemon grass
- 2 boneless, skinless breasts of chicken
- 2 13.66 ounce cans of lite coconut milk (or whole fat)
- 1/2 ounce dried straw mushrooms (or substitute canned or fresh mushrooms, straw, shiitake or oyster)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce ( or substitute same measure of Worcestershire sauce)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste)
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
- 3 teaspoons Thai chili paste (or more to taste)
Garnish
- Freshly chopped cilantro, lime wedges
Instructions
- If you are using dried mushrooms, soak them in warm to hot water for 30-60 minutes, then drain the liquid.
- Into a medium saute pan, add 2 whole, skinless, boneless chicken breasts. Cover with 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth and let the meat cook on low, about 45-60 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked through, drain the liquid and save it for the soup, then with a couple of forks, shred the chicken. Set aside until it's time to add it to the soup.
- Into a large, heavy bottomed pot, add 4 cups of chicken stock plus the reserved poaching liquid. Peel a 3 inch piece of fresh ginger and then cut it into 4 strips and put it into the stock (use an equal amount of dried galangal if that's what you are using). Add 3-4 dried or fresh kaffir lime leaves or substitute the zest of 5 large limes. Add 3 large peeled and smashed cloves of garlic. Next, add 2 stalks of lemon grass that you've smashed with a knife to open. Use the white part only and discard the rest. Let the mixture simmer on low heat, about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to penetrate into the broth.
- Add 2 cans coconut milk to the broth and stir very gently to combine. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar, 3 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce, the juice of 5 limes and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper, or to taste. Add 3 teaspoon (more or less) of Thai red chili paste. Next, add the mushrooms, 3 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro and the shredded chicken. Stir to combine and heat another 5 minutes.
- To serve this soup, remove the kaffir leaves first, they are not edible and remind others not to eat any of the galangal (it's hard and usually left at the bottom of the bowl or put aside) and the large strips of ginger are not appealing either, but typically, found in the bowl of soup.
- Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro.
- You can also serve this soup in a bowl over short grain sticky rice.
Karen Harris https://www.bittersaltysoursweet.com
