Tom Kha Gai
“Coconut-milk chicken soup built on bruised galangal, lemongrass, and torn kaffir lime leaf, finished with lime juice, fish sauce, fresh chiles, and straw mushrooms.”
Where it comes from
Tom kha gai belongs to the Central Thai canon and is the milder coconut-milk cousin of tom yum. It evolved alongside the broader gaeng (curry-soup) tradition, drawing on Thailand's coconut-growing south and the galangal that grows in the central plains. Unlike tom yum, which is pungent and chile-forward, tom kha is built around the cooling effect of coconut fat carrying acid and salt — a soup served alongside fiery dishes to give the palate somewhere to rest.
On the plate
An ivory-pale broth, almost milky, with an oily-citrus shimmer on top. The first sip is coconut-soft on the tongue, then galangal — sharper and more pine-resinous than ginger — cuts through, then the lime hits late. The chicken is tender; the bruised chiles are there for fragrance more than heat. If the soup tastes flat-sweet with no citrus snap, the cook killed the lime by adding it before the heat went off.
How it works
Galangal (kha) is not a milder ginger — it's a different rhizome with a piney, soapy note that ginger cannot supply. Substitution kills the dish. The coconut milk must be added with the stock from the start, not at the end like in some curries — extended simmering thickens it slightly without breaking, giving the soup body. Lime juice goes in only after the pot leaves the heat: cooked lime turns flatly bitter, raw lime keeps its top-note brightness.
The mild coconut cousin of tom yum, built around galangal (kha) carrying acid and salt. Galangal is not a milder ginger — it's piney and faintly soapy, and ginger cannot supply it. Coconut milk goes in with the stock from the start; lime juice goes in only after the pot leaves the heat or it turns flatly bitter.
Variations
Tom kha het uses oyster mushroom for the vegetarian temple version; Bangkok hotel restaurants run a tom kha pla salmon adaptation; Issan cooks drop the coconut and call the result tom yum lao; Chiang Mai's Lanna kitchens add a sour leaf called bai chamuang for an extra acid layer.
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
5 steps · Show ↓25 min active · 5 min waiting
How it's made
5 steps · Show ↓- 15 min
Slice 80g fresh galangal (kha) into 3mm coins. Bruise 3 lemongrass stalks (white parts only) with the back of a knife and cut into 4cm sections. Tear 8 kaffir lime leaves (bai makrut), removing the central stem.
- 28 min
Bring 400ml chicken stock and 400ml coconut milk to a gentle simmer. Drop in galangal, lemongrass, and lime leaves. Simmer 8 minutes — the broth turns pale yellow and smells of pine and citrus peel.
Watch outEnsure the broth does not boil hard to prevent tough chicken.
- 38 min
Add 400g chicken thigh sliced 5mm thick across the grain and 150g halved straw mushrooms. Simmer 6-8 minutes — chicken just cooked, no pink at the bone, broth never boils hard.
Watch outCheck that the chicken is fully cooked with no pink at the bone.
- 42 min
Off heat. Add 4 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla), 3 tbsp lime juice, 4-6 bird's-eye chiles bruised but whole, and 1 tsp palm sugar. Taste — should be salt-first, sour-second, with sweet shadow underneath; fix with more lime or fish sauce.
Watch outAdjust seasoning carefully; too much fish sauce can overpower the dish.
- 52 min
Ladle into bowls. Scatter cilantro leaves and a few rings of red chile. The galangal and lemongrass stay in — they are flavor, not garnish; you eat around them.
