Tom kha gai (Thai coconut chicken soup)

Name: Tom kha gai (Thai coconut chicken soup)
Cook time: 32 min
Total time: 32 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Tailandesa
Ingredients: 3 u Red Chilli; 1 handful Coriander; 800 ml Coconut Milk; 3 tablespoons Fish Sauce; 400 ml Chicken Stock; 500 g Chicken Thighs; 3 tablespoons Lime juice; 200 g Mushrooms; 1 teaspoon Palm Sugar; 40 g Galangal; 3 u Lemongrass; 6 leaves Lime Leaves

Sopa tom kha gai

Easy

Incomplete allergen information: some ingredients have not been reviewed yet. Always check the labels before cooking.

Author: Equipo Cocinoa
Preparation time: 32 min
Servings: 4

Summary

A Thai coconut milk soup with chicken, galangal, lemongrass and makrut lime leaves, sharpened with lime and seasoned with fish sauce. Creamy, fragrant and ready in half an hour.

Ingredients

4 servings

Add to Bring!

3 u Red Chilli (small ones, lightly crushed, to taste)
1 handful Coriander (fresh, leaves only)
800 ml Coconut Milk (full-fat (2 tins))
3 tablespoons Fish Sauce
400 ml Chicken Stock (homemade, or water)
500 g Chicken Thighs (boneless and skinless)
3 tablespoons Lime juice
200 g Mushrooms (oyster, shiitake or button mushrooms)
1 teaspoon Palm Sugar (or soft brown sugar)
40 g Galangal (fresh, thinly sliced (about 6 cm))
3 u Lemongrass (stalks, bruised and cut into pieces)
6 leaves Lime Leaves (central rib removed, torn)

Instructions

Prepare the aromatics: strip the tough outer layers from the lemongrass, cut it into 4 cm lengths and bruise them with the back of a knife. Slice the galangal thinly, no need to peel it, and tear the lime leaves away from their central rib. Cut the chicken into thin, bite-sized strips and the mushrooms into pieces.
10 min
Put the stock and half the coconut milk in a saucepan with the lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves. Heat over a medium heat until it starts to bubble gently, then leave to infuse over a low heat for 5 minutes.
10 min
Add the chicken and mushrooms and cook over a gentle heat, with small bubbles only around the edges, until the chicken is white all the way through.
8 min
Stir in the rest of the coconut milk, the fish sauce and the palm sugar and heat until the soup is piping hot again, without letting it boil.
3 min
Take the pan off the heat and add the lime juice and chillies. Taste: it should be creamy, sour and salty all at once, with a faint sweetness underneath. Adjust with more lime or fish sauce.
1 min
Serve in bowls topped with coriander leaves and, if you like, jasmine rice on the side. Set aside the pieces of galangal, lemongrass and lime leaf as you eat.

Notes

In Thai, tom means to boil, kha is galangal and gai is chicken: the name sums up the dish. Galangal is essential; it looks like ginger but tastes more citrusy, piney and peppery, and ginger is a poor substitute. Look for it fresh or frozen in Asian shops, next to the lemongrass and makrut lime leaves. Coconut milk splits if it boils hard: keep it at a very gentle simmer throughout and use full-fat coconut milk, which holds up better than the light kind. The lime goes in at the end, off the heat, so it keeps its freshness. The galangal, lemongrass and lime leaves give aroma but aren't eaten: warn your guests or fish them out before serving. If you use shop-bought stock, check that it is gluten-free. For a vegetarian version, use tofu, extra mushrooms, vegetable stock and soy sauce instead of fish sauce. The chicken must be cooked through. It keeps for two days in the fridge; reheat gently without letting it boil. Don't freeze it, as the coconut milk splits when thawed.