Lea recipes

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai)

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4 servings (about 8 cups)

If you have ever typed “Thai coconut ginger soup” into a search bar hoping for the real thing, this is the bowl you were looking for. Tom Kha Gai is Thailand’s beloved coconut chicken soup: a silky coconut broth infused with lemongrass, galanga and makrut lime leaves, tender slices of chicken poached right in the broth, and a finish of fish sauce and fresh lime that makes the whole bowl taste bright, savory and alive at the same time. It is creamy without being heavy, fragrant without being perfumed, and — once your ingredients are sliced — genuinely on the table in 30 minutes.

A quick word so there is no confusion in my own kitchen: this is a different soup from my Creamy Ginger Coconut Soup with Turmeric, Sweet Potato & Chickpeas, which is a vegan sweet potato and chickpea bowl. Tom Kha Gai is the classic Thai restaurant soup, built on chicken, mushrooms and those unmistakable aromatics. And because a soup night at my house so often ends with something sweet, yesterday’s Classic Apple Pie is a surprisingly happy partner for it — bright lime first, cinnamon and butter after. The one technique that matters most here is gentleness: the coconut milk simmers, it never hard-boils, and the lime juice goes in off the heat. Follow those two rules and the broth stays silky and fresh-tasting, exactly as it should.

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai)

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai) with lemongrass, galanga and lime — creamy, bright and ready in 30 minutes, never hard-boiled.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Soups

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

For the broth:

• 2 cans (13.5 ounces each) full-fat coconut milk, well shaken, divided
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 stalks lemongrass, outer layers removed, cut into 2-inch pieces and lightly smashed
• 1 piece fresh galanga (2 inches, about 1 ounce), sliced into thin coins — or the same amount of fresh ginger, sliced
• 5 makrut lime leaves, torn in half and center ribs removed — or 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
• 1 small shallot, thinly sliced

For the soup:

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced thinly against the grain — or boneless, skinless chicken thighs, sliced
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced — or straw mushrooms, halved
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 to 3 Thai bird’s eye chilies, lightly smashed — or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce, plus more to taste
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar — or palm sugar

To finish and serve:

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from 2 to 3 limes), plus lime wedges for serving
• 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• Steamed jasmine rice, for serving (optional)

Method

 

1. Prep everything first (10 minutes): slice the chicken thinly against the grain and keep it cold in the fridge until its moment — thin slices poach evenly and stay tender. Smash the lemongrass pieces with the flat of a knife so they release their oils, slice the galanga into thin coins, tear the makrut lime leaves and remove their center ribs, slice the shallot and mushrooms, halve the cherry tomatoes, and smash the chilies. Juice the limes but set the juice aside — it does not go in until the very end. Tom Kha Gai cooks fast once the pot is on, so this 10 minutes of prep is what keeps the cooking calm.
2. Infuse the broth (5 minutes): in a large pot or Dutch oven, combine 1 can of the coconut milk, all 2 cups of the chicken broth, the lemongrass, galanga, makrut lime leaves and shallot. Bring the mixture just to a gentle simmer over medium heat — small bubbles lazily breaking at the edges, never a rolling boil — and simmer for 5 minutes, until the broth smells deeply fragrant. Boiling coconut milk hard at this stage can split it and dull the aromatics, so lower the heat the moment it gets lively.
3. Poach the chicken (8 minutes): add the sliced chicken in a single layer, stir once to separate the pieces, and keep the broth at that same gentle simmer for 8 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through, opaque all the way through and registers 165°F (74°C) on an instant-read thermometer. Thin slices poach quickly and gently here; a hard boil would toughen them, which is the second reason this soup never boils.
4. Add the mushrooms and tomatoes (5 minutes): stir in the mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and chilies, and simmer gently for 5 minutes more, until the mushrooms are tender and the tomatoes have softened and slumped slightly but still hold their shape. Their juices loosen the broth a little and add a soft sweetness that balances the lime to come.
5. Season the broth (2 minutes): stir in the second can of coconut milk, the 3 tablespoons of fish sauce and the 2 teaspoons of sugar, and warm everything through at a bare simmer for 2 minutes, until steaming hot again but not boiling. Taste now, before the lime: the broth should be savory and rounded. The fish sauce is the salt in this soup, so add a little more only if it truly tastes flat.
6. Finish off the heat and serve: take the pot completely off the heat, wait a moment so the bubbling stops, then stir in the 1/4 cup of lime juice. Taste again and adjust — a little more lime for brightness, a little more fish sauce for depth. Fish out the lemongrass pieces, galanga coins and lime leaves if you like (they are aromatics, not garnish, and nobody enjoys chewing them). Ladle into 4 warm bowls, scatter the cilantro and green onions over the top, and serve right away with lime wedges and steamed jasmine rice on the side, if you like.

Notes

Never hard-boil the coconut milk, and add the lime juice off the heat.

Ingredients

• For the broth:
• 2 cans (13.5 ounces each) full-fat coconut milk, well shaken, divided
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 stalks lemongrass, outer layers removed, cut into 2-inch pieces and lightly smashed
• 1 piece fresh galanga (2 inches, about 1 ounce), sliced into thin coins — or the same amount of fresh ginger, sliced (see the substitution note in the tips)
• 5 makrut lime leaves, torn in half and center ribs removed — or 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest (see the substitution note in the tips)
• 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
• For the soup:
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced thinly against the grain — or boneless, skinless chicken thighs, sliced
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced — or straw mushrooms, halved
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 to 3 Thai bird’s eye chilies, lightly smashed — or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce, plus more to taste
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar — or palm sugar
• To finish and serve:
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from 2 to 3 limes), plus lime wedges for serving
• 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• Steamed jasmine rice, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Prep everything first (10 minutes): slice the chicken thinly against the grain and keep it cold in the fridge until its moment — thin slices poach evenly and stay tender. Smash the lemongrass pieces with the flat of a knife so they release their oils, slice the galanga into thin coins, tear the makrut lime leaves and remove their center ribs, slice the shallot and mushrooms, halve the cherry tomatoes, and smash the chilies. Juice the limes but set the juice aside — it does not go in until the very end. Tom Kha Gai cooks fast once the pot is on, so this 10 minutes of prep is what keeps the cooking calm.
2. Infuse the broth (5 minutes): in a large pot or Dutch oven, combine 1 can of the coconut milk, all 2 cups of the chicken broth, the lemongrass, galanga, makrut lime leaves and shallot. Bring the mixture just to a gentle simmer over medium heat — small bubbles lazily breaking at the edges, never a rolling boil — and simmer for 5 minutes, until the broth smells deeply fragrant. Boiling coconut milk hard at this stage can split it and dull the aromatics, so lower the heat the moment it gets lively.
3. Poach the chicken (8 minutes): add the sliced chicken in a single layer, stir once to separate the pieces, and keep the broth at that same gentle simmer for 8 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through, opaque all the way through and registers 165°F (74°C) on an instant-read thermometer. Thin slices poach quickly and gently here; a hard boil would toughen them, which is the second reason this soup never boils.
4. Add the mushrooms and tomatoes (5 minutes): stir in the mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and chilies, and simmer gently for 5 minutes more, until the mushrooms are tender and the tomatoes have softened and slumped slightly but still hold their shape. Their juices loosen the broth a little and add a soft sweetness that balances the lime to come.
5. Season the broth (2 minutes): stir in the second can of coconut milk, the 3 tablespoons of fish sauce and the 2 teaspoons of sugar, and warm everything through at a bare simmer for 2 minutes, until steaming hot again but not boiling. Taste now, before the lime: the broth should be savory and rounded. The fish sauce is the salt in this soup, so add a little more only if it truly tastes flat.
6. Finish off the heat and serve: take the pot completely off the heat, wait a moment so the bubbling stops, then stir in the 1/4 cup of lime juice. Taste again and adjust — a little more lime for brightness, a little more fish sauce for depth. Fish out the lemongrass pieces, galanga coins and lime leaves if you like (they are aromatics, not garnish, and nobody enjoys chewing them). Ladle into 4 warm bowls, scatter the cilantro and green onions over the top, and serve right away with lime wedges and steamed jasmine rice on the side, if you like.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• The real Tom Kha Gai, in 30 minutes: lemongrass, galanga and makrut lime leaves infused straight into the coconut broth — the exact flavor American home cooks search for as “Thai coconut ginger soup,” with a total time of just 30 minutes.
• Silky, never split: the broth only ever simmers gently, so the coconut milk stays smooth and creamy from the first spoonful to the last.
• Bright, not heavy: the lime juice goes in off the heat, so it tastes fresh and vivid instead of cooked and bitter — that one habit changes the whole soup.
• Honest substitutions that work: fresh ginger for galanga and lime zest for makrut lime leaves, clearly labeled as stand-ins, so a regular grocery store is all you need.

Tips from Lea Bennett

• Never hard-boil the coconut milk: this is the rule I repeat to myself every time I make this soup. Coconut milk that boils hard can split into a grainy, oily broth and its fresh flavor flattens. Keep the pot at a gentle simmer — lazy bubbles at the edges, steam rising, nothing rolling — for the full 20 minutes of cooking, and lower the heat the moment it gets lively. A silky broth is a gentle broth.
• Add the lime juice off the heat, always: lime juice cooked in the broth turns dull and faintly bitter, and the soup loses the bright top note that makes Tom Kha Gai taste alive. Take the pot off the burner, let the bubbling stop, then stir in the 1/4 cup of lime juice and taste. I add it in 2 goes, tasting between them, because limes vary — you can always add more brightness, you cannot take it back out.
• Galanga and ginger are cousins, not twins: galanga is the authentic aromatic here — woodier, more citrusy and peppery than ginger, and less sweet. If your store has it, use the 2-inch piece sliced into thin coins. If it does not, the same amount of fresh ginger, sliced the same way, makes a delicious soup — I will never pretend the flavor is identical, because it is not, but it is a good and honest stand-in and the soup still tastes unmistakably like Tom Kha Gai.
• Makrut lime leaves, and the zest stand-in: the torn leaves give the broth a floral lime perfume that nothing else quite matches, so look for them fresh or frozen at an Asian market when you can. No leaves? Stir 1 teaspoon of finely grated lime zest into the broth with the lemongrass instead. It is a stand-in, not an equal — the flavor is brighter and less floral — so keep the zest fine and do not add extra thinking more will close the gap.
• Smash the lemongrass, do not slice it thin: cut the stalks into 2-inch pieces and give each piece a firm press with the flat of a knife or the bottom of a mug. Smashing cracks the fibers so the fragrant oils actually reach the broth during those 5 minutes of infusing; thin raw slices stay politely closed and give you half the aroma. Big smashed pieces are also easy to fish out before serving.
• Slice the chicken thin and against the grain: thin slices poach in 8 minutes and stay silky; thick chunks overcook on the outside before the center is done and turn chewy. For the cleanest cuts, firm the chicken in the freezer for a short while until it is stiff at the edges but not frozen solid, then slice. Always confirm the thickest piece is opaque through and at 165°F (74°C).
• Balance at the end, in the right order: fish sauce first for salt and depth, sugar for roundness, lime last and off the heat for brightness. Taste after each one. The finished broth should hit savory, gently sweet and bright in that order — if it tastes salty, it usually needs lime, not water; if it tastes sharp, a pinch more sugar and a splash more coconut milk will round it.
• Warm your bowls: a small thing that matters with a 30-minute soup — run hot water through the serving bowls while the chicken poaches, then dry them before ladling. Tom Kha Gai served in a warm bowl stays silky and steaming all the way through the meal instead of cooling at the edges.

Variations

• Tom Kha Goong (shrimp): swap the chicken for 1 pound of peeled, deveined shrimp. Keep everything else the same, but add the shrimp in place of the mushrooms step and simmer gently for just 3 to 4 minutes, until pink and curled — shrimp overcook far faster than the 8 minutes the chicken needs, so pull the pot the moment they are done, then finish with the lime off the heat exactly as written.
• Vegetarian Tom Kha: use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, swap the chicken for 14 ounces of firm tofu cut into bite-size cubes, and replace the 3 tablespoons of fish sauce with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce plus a pinch of salt, to taste. Add the tofu with the mushrooms and tomatoes so it warms through without breaking apart, and keep the lime finish off the heat.
• Extra-spicy Tom Kha: use the full 3 chilies and add 1 to 2 teaspoons of Thai chili paste (nam prik pao), if you have it, with the fish sauce and sugar. The soup should glow warmly, not burn — taste before adding the lime, because lime brightens heat as well as flavor.
• Creamier, richer broth: for a more indulgent bowl, stir 1/4 cup of coconut cream in with the second can of coconut milk in the seasoning step. Keep the heat gentle for those 2 minutes — richer coconut splits even more eagerly at a boil, so this is the moment to be most patient.

Make Ahead & Storage

Make ahead: The honest answer is that Tom Kha Gai is at its very best fresh, because the lime is brightest in the first hour. If you need a head start, make the infused broth base — the coconut milk, broth and aromatics simmered for 5 minutes — up to 1 day ahead, cool it and refrigerate it in a covered container. When you are ready to eat, warm it gently back to a simmer and continue with the chicken step; the remaining cooking is only about 15 minutes. You can also do all the slicing — chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes, aromatics — a few hours ahead and keep everything covered in the fridge, so the 10 minutes of prep is already done when you start.

Fridge: Cool leftovers quickly, transfer them to an airtight container, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Fish out the lemongrass, galanga and lime leaves before storing if you can — left in the soup, they keep infusing and can turn the broth bitter by the second day. Stir in a small squeeze of fresh lime after reheating to wake the flavor back up.

Reheating: Reheat gently on the stove over low to medium-low heat, stirring often, until the soup is steaming hot and the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C). Do not let it boil — the same rule as cooking day — or the coconut milk can split and the chicken toughens. If the broth has thickened in the fridge, loosen it with a splash of chicken broth or water as it warms.

Freezer: Coconut-based soups can be frozen for up to 2 months, but go in knowing the texture changes: the coconut milk may separate a little on thawing and the tomatoes soften further. Freeze without the cilantro and green onions, thaw overnight in the fridge, reheat very gently while whisking, and finish with fresh lime juice, cilantro and green onions as if you had just made it.

FAQ

What is the difference between Tom Kha Gai and Tom Yum?
They are Thailand’s two famous soups, built on the same aromatics — lemongrass, galanga and makrut lime leaves — but Tom Kha Gai is the coconut one: rich, creamy and gently flavored, with chicken (“gai”) poached in coconut milk. Tom Yum is a clear, broth-based soup, sharper and usually spicier, most often made with shrimp. If you want creamy and comforting, you want Tom Kha Gai — this soup.

Can I use ginger instead of galanga, and lime zest instead of makrut lime leaves?
Yes to both, with honest expectations. Fresh ginger sliced into thin coins stands in well for the 2-inch piece of galanga: the soup will be a little sweeter and warmer, a little less citrusy and peppery, and still delicious. And 1 teaspoon of finely grated lime zest can replace the 5 torn makrut lime leaves when you cannot find them. Neither swap is identical to the original — I would rather tell you that plainly — but both keep the soup firmly in Tom Kha Gai territory.

Why did my coconut broth split or look oily?
Almost always, it boiled. Coconut milk separates when it is held at a hard boil, which is why every step of this recipe stays at a gentle simmer for the full 20 minutes of cooking. If your broth does split a little, take the pot off the heat and whisk it briskly — it often comes back together — and lower the heat before it goes back on. Using full-fat coconut milk, not the light kind, also makes a noticeably more stable and silkier broth.

Is Tom Kha Gai spicy?
As written, it is gently warm, not hot: the 2 to 3 smashed bird’s eye chilies perfume the broth more than they burn. For a milder soup, use just 1 chili or the 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and taste before adding more; for a spicier one, use all 3 chilies and slice one of them so its seeds reach the broth. Remember that the lime added at the end brightens the heat, so judge the spice after the lime goes in.

What should I serve with Tom Kha Gai?
Steamed jasmine rice is the classic partner — spoon the soup over it or serve it alongside for people to add as they like. It also works as the first bowl of a Thai-leaning meal before a stir-fry or a curry. On its own, 1 bowl with rice is a light, complete meal for most appetites; the recipe makes 4 servings (about 8 cups) either way.

More Soups You’ll Love

• Coconut Curry Noodle Soup with Fresh Lime & Herbs
• Creamy Roasted Pumpkin Soup
• The Best Creamy Mushroom Soup You’ll Make All Season

Conclusion

Silky coconut broth, lemongrass and lime in the air, tender chicken in every spoonful — Tom Kha Gai is the soup I make when I want the kitchen to smell like somewhere far away while dinner still lands on the table in 30 minutes. Keep the simmer gentle, save the lime for off the heat, and taste your way to that savory, bright balance at the end. I hope it becomes one of your most-requested soups, too. Enjoy! 💛

Follow along for a new recipe every day: find me on Facebook at Lea Recipes Kitchen, on Pinterest at @learecipes, and on Instagram @lea_recipes1. If you make this soup, I’d love it if you’d leave the recipe a star rating and a comment — it truly helps other home cooks find it. Thank you! 💛