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This tom kha gai soup recipe (or Thai coconut chicken soup) is absolutely perfect. Rich and creamy yet tangy and salty, this Thai coconut chicken soup recipe is filling but light and positively bursting with flavor. The very best tom kha gai recipe I’ve ever made or tried. With Whole30, paleo, and vegan options, too.
My Favorite Thai-Inspired Soup
Let’s go ahead and talk about the best soup of all time.
That’s right: tom kha soup. AKA Thai coconut chicken soup. AKA tom kha gai.
So here’s the deal: this tom kha gai (Thai coconut chicken soup) is perfection. It’s creamy and a bit tart and salty and a bit sweet, and the chicken is tender, and the mushrooms are filling, and the fresh cilantro adds the perfect herbaceous edge, and I can’t get enough of this soup. I don’t think you’d ever need another Whole30 Thai coconut chicken soup recipe, or heck, a plain ol’ non Whole30 Thai coconut chicken soup recipe for that matter, because this recipe is so damn good.
And you know what? I have a really solid story to go along with this recipe.
Skip the Takeout and Make This at Home!
When I was in college, I fell in love with cooking. Like, swept me off my feet, fall flat on my back, obsess over it day in and day out in love. And so, it being 2006, I started a recipezaar.com account. I went into detail about my obsessions and how the one recipe I always wanted to learn to make was the fresh salsa from my favorite Mexican restaurant. In fact, you can read the story and get the recipe for the best restaurant style salsa ever by clicking here. You’ll thank me later (pretty sure).
The Story
What happened was this: a guy at my college found my profile on the recipezaar.com and saw that it was my lifelong dream to recreate this salsa. He reached out to the head of marketing or CEO or something like that at the restaurant in question and told her this sob story about how we were engaged and living abroad and I was terribly homesick and all he wanted to do for Christmas was make me a giant feast to remember home, including this salsa that I loved so much, of course.
So Then What?
So what did she do? She gave him the recipe of course. Of course.
And then he gave me the recipe of course. Of. Course. And then we got to talking and…
No, our leading fella isn’t my husband and the father of my children (because wouldn’t that be just too damn much?), but he did do the same thing for me later with this tom kha soup.
You see, there’s something about this recipe that’s just not like the others. Something better.
This tom kha soup is based off the exceptional dish found at a local chain of restaurants in the state where I went to college. It was different than the Thai coconut chicken soup I’d had before, and it sold me forever and ever on Thai food. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it solo, though, but it all made sense when he got me the secret recipe.
Why This is One of the Best Soup Recipes Ever
- There’s a secret ingredient that adds a savoriness to this Thai tom kha gai coconut chicken soup recipe that takes it all to the next level.
- It’s creamy and sweet and salty and spicy and bright all in one.
- This tom kha soup recipe is actually quite easy to make and doesn’t require hard-to-find ingredients. You should be able to get everything from a traditional Western grocery store.
- I’ve included Whole30 and vegan options so you can enjoy this tom kha soup all the time, even if you’re avoiding added sugars or you don’t eat animal products.
A Note from Cheryl: Years ago, we referred to certain ingredients in this recipe as “weird”, a term we erroneously used to describe harder-to-find ingredients that are generally unfamiliar to the average American reader. In using this term, though, we unintentionally contributed to furthering the stigma that these ingredients are somehow “not normal”. That was never our intent, but it was our impact, and that’s what matters.
What’s the Secret Ingredient?
It turns out it’s quite simple, really: red curry paste. Just a bit of red curry paste added to an otherwise pretty traditional recipe for tom kha soup, making it way easier for me to make on a regular basis.
Speaking of easier… you can also swap ginger for galangal and swap fresh lime juice for makrut lime leaves. As much as I love the international market, I just don’t get there enough to satisfy my Whole30 Thai coconut chicken soup craving if I have to use those hard-to-find ingredients!
Where Can I Find Lemongrass?
I find fresh lemongrass in the produce section of almost every grocery store these days. If you can’t find it fresh, though, you can usually find a refrigerated tube of it, minced, in the produce area. Ask your clerk and tell them it’s important! You can’t make the best ever tom kha soup without it!
Can I Make This Soup Vegan?
To make this tom kha soup vegan:
- Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
- Substitute soy sauce for the fish sauce.
- Add a 1-pound block of tofu, cubed into bite-sized pieces, instead of chicken.
And you won’t call it “tom kha gai,” if you don’t use chicken. You can call it “tom kha tofu”!
Other Recipes You’ll Love
- Egg Roll in a Bowl
- Vegan Chili
- Grilled Baked Potatoes
- Paleo Banana Bread
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Mexican Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Perfect Keto Deviled Eggs
- She Crab Soup
- Chinese Vegetable Soup
Best Ever Tom Kha Gai – Thai Coconut Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- half of one onion thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- half of one red jalapeno pepper sliced; or 1-3 Thai chiles, halved
- 3 ¼-inch slices galangal or ginger
- 1 lemongrass stalk pounded with the side of a knife and cut into 2-inch long pieces
- 2 teaspoons red Thai curry paste
- 4 cups chicken broth see Notes if vegan or on Whole30
- 4 cups canned full-fat coconut cream unsweetened, or full-fat unsweetened coconut milk; see Notes
- 2 medium chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces, approximately 1 pound
- 8 ounces white mushroom caps sliced
- 1-2 tablespoons coconut sugar see Notes for Whole30 option
- 1 ½ – 2 tablespoons fish sauce plus more to taste, see Notes if on Whole30 or vegan
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2-3 green onions sliced thin
- fresh cilantro chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium pot, heat the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeno or chile, galangal or ginger, lemongrass, and red curry paste and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, or until onions are softened. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Strain out the aromatics (the garlic, onions, lemongrass, and ginger) and discard. Add in coconut cream or milk, chicken breast (or tofu or shrimp), and mushrooms. Simmer until chicken breast pieces are just cooked through, then add fish sauce, coconut aminos (or coconut sugar), and lime juice, plus more of each to taste.
- Cook 2 minutes, then ladle into serving bowls and top with sliced green onions and fresh cilantro.
Video
- Be sure to use coconut cream or coconut milk. Coco lopez and coconut creamer are not the same as coconut cream/coconut milk and will not work in this recipe.
- To use shrimp, simply stir in 1 pound of raw shrimp instead of chicken. Simmer until just cooked through, pink, and no longer translucent.
- Make it Whole30: Use compliant chicken broth. Use 2 tablespoons coconut aminos instead of coconut sugar. Use Red Boat fish sauce – this is the only fish sauce I’ve found to be compliant.
- Make it Vegan/Vegetarian: Use vegetable stock, preferably an Asian variety. Use a 1-pound block of firm or extra firm tofu (regular or silken) cut into bite-sized cubes. For vegan, use soy sauce (to taste) instead of fish sauce.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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Can you find a thai red curry paste that doesn’t include a shellfish (shrimp) in it? Sadly, we have allergies in our house.
If you search Google for vegan Thai red curry paste, there are a few brands that come up! I’m not sure what’s available near you specifically but hopefully that helps!
I have made this soup three times and each time it is amazing! Thank you. 😊
Thanks for sharing, Anne! So glad you love it! 🙂
I was trying to find a recipe that was like our favorite Thai restaurant. This did the trick! I ordered galangal, lemon grass and Kaffir lime leaves so I used them in recipe. I used more chili peppers to get the heat we like and it was perfect!
Hi, Susan! So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing! 😊
The best Tom kha!!! It is just like the one we get from our favorite Thai restaurant. I put whole drumsticks in the broth while it simmered away and took them out and shredded. Amazing flavor. Definitely don’t skip the dried lime leaves or lemon grass. I used zuchini, bell pepper and mushrooms to bulk up the soup, and two cans of full fat coconut cream. I also stirred a little Thai basil and cilantro in as a garnish and ladled over a small amount of rice, topped with crunchy bean sprouts on top. I have tried to make this soup before and this recipe is the WINNER. Thank you so much for sharing. Authentic as your local takeout 😉
So glad you love the soup! Your additions sound wonderful as well- thank you for sharing! 😊
What is it with people leaving reviews after completely revamping a dish? You’re reviewing your own dish, not the one on this website
If she had trashed the recipe, and then added how she “fixed it”, I would agree with you. The review is nothing but praise though, with a side note of additions she made. Recipes aren’t concrete, they are a base for others to use and then change if they want to fit their particular tastes and needs. The ingredients she added wouldn’t change the flavor profile too much, but some people appreciate suggestions like that because they wouldn’t have thought of them on their own or have the extra ingredients lying around and are feeling squirrelly. I’m personally planning on trying this recipe at work, but adding fresh diced tomatoes and noodles at the end because that’s how my local place of choice does it and it’s wonderful and it will fit my needs better. Would be no where without that solid foundation though.
At what point did you add the zucchini, bell pepper etc?
I did not follow this recipe exactly, but I do think no matter what it needs more ginger and lemongrass. I made a good tom kha using this modified to what ingredients I could access.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing, Anna! 😊
I LOVE LOVE LOvE this soup. I found 1/2 coconut cream and 1/2 coconut milk makes the best. I wasn’t able to get galanga root so I ordered dried galanga Through Amazon. The flavors are so complex. I’ve made it twice with chicken and once with shrimp.
Hi Janie! So glad you’ve enjoyed this soup- the addition of shrimp sounds great! Thanks for sharing! 😊
Great recipe I make it all the time especially if have a sore throat. I also add roasted chili paste. I use lite coconut milk now for less fat and I do add bamboo shoots for some crunch.
The additions of chili paste and bamboo shoots sound great! So glad you love it, Kelly! 😊
I tried to make this tonight. I must have gotten the wrong cans of coconut cream because it was way too sweet. I thought I had read the instructions carefully but I guess not. I tried to dilute it and added a can of coconut milk, some extra bullion and extra plain cream. Oh well. It’s hard to find the right ingredients where I live. I had managed to get the lemon grass. I used garlic instead of galanga.
Oh, no, I’m so sorry, Rhonda! It definitely sounds like you used sweetened coconut cream rather than unsweetened. There shouldn’t have been any sweetness to the dish at all really. I hope you’ll give this another try soon!
I am only able to find red chili paste, instead of red jalapenos or thai chilies. Thoughts on how much paste to use to substitute instead of the actual peppers? Excited to try this recipe this week. One of our favorite soups.
To clarify, Thai chili paste to substitute the red jalapeno or thai chiliesI also have found the red curry paste.
This soup is amazing!! Simple instructions to follow—the most incredible layers of flavor. I live in a small mountain town in Idaho I couldn’t get whole lemon grass substituted the tube of lemon grass and used about 1 1/2 T You could use any veggies but don’t leave out any main ingredients the broth is the star.
Thank you for sharing, Carol! Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂