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Order all your Tom Kah ingredients here Galangal (100g) Lemongrass (100g) Thai Coriander (100g) Kaffir Lime Leaves (100g) Small Red Chillies Thai Red Onion Coconut Cream Coconut Milk Fish Sauce

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Thai Chicken Soup in Coconut Milk (Tom Kha Gai)

Thai Shallots

Lemongrass

Fish Sauce

Galangal

Straw Mushroom

Kaffir Lime Leaves

Thai Red Chillies

Coconut Milk

Thai Coriander

Note: These are the recommended amounts required for a meal for four people. Please adjust the amounts accordingly for more or less people. Also you might already have some of these Thai food ingredients in your larder, so please set the quantity to zero for any ingredients that you already have.
All our fresh Thai products are flown in direct from Thailand once a week, ensuring you get the best quality fresh Thai food products. Using fresh Thai produce will ensure you get an authentic taste.

Cooking Time: 15 to 20 minutes.

Method:

1. Remove any fat from the chicken and slice it thinly.
2. Empty the coconut milk into the pan and bring it to the boil. Then add the lemongrass, shallots, coriander root, galangal and shredded kaffir leaves. Add the sliced chicken and simmer over a low-medium heat. Season to taste.
3. Once the chicken is cooked, add the coconut cream and stir into the soup. Once it returns to the boil, turn off the heat.
4. Finally add the red Thai chillies, coriander, fresh lime juice and fish sauce.
5. Serve hot as a starter or a tasty accompaniment to the main meal.

 

Tom Kha Gai is a spicy coconut flavoured chicken soup, one that is popular with both Thais and people visiting the nation of Thailand.

Tom Kha Gai is very similar to the Thai national dish of Tom Yum, and the process involved in preparing both dishes is almost identical. The major difference between the two is that Tom Kha adds coconut milk to the soup, making it creamier, and slightly sweater.

The spices and seasoning used to make Tom Kha Gai include onions, garlic, ginger, lemon grass, kaffir lime, coriander, lime juice, fish sauce, chillies and soy sauce.

Most of these herbs and spices will be mixed together using a mortar and pestle to make a paste, only the lemon grass, onions and ginger will be added in larger pieces.

Some Thai chefs will use a mixture of coconut milk (purchased in cartons) and coconut juice (fresh from the coconut) to make Tom Kha Gai. The reason for this is simply due to the exceptional flavour produced by using fresh coconut juice. However, using coconut juice alone is not enough, as it will not boil down or thicken the soup itself, and this is why coconut milk, which is thicker and creamier, is also added to the soup mix.

One slight variation on the theme of Tom Kha Gai is to add a small quantity of fresh shrimp to the recipe, only a small amount, possibly just 5th of the quantity of chicken that is being added.

There is some debate regarding how chilli should be added to the recipe. One half of the divide tells us that only fresh chilli should be used, to make the soup fiery. The other half tell us that the chilli should fried first, as this imparts a more smoky flavour to the soup. Try both, decide which you like best.

A slight local variation is eaten in North East Thailand (Isan) and in Laos. The Thai version of Tom Kha Gai does not use dill weed in the recipe, the Laos version does add dill weed, giving the soup a more tangy taste.

Although Tom Kha is usually made with chicken, it can be made with either pork or seafood, but chicken is by far the most common Tom Kha ordered.

Tom Kha Gai is also often ordered as a standalone dish, without rice, as an accompaniment to beer or whisky, much in the same way we eat peanuts or potato chips when drinking in a bar in the Western world.