🥥 Tom Kha Soup – A recipe for Thailand’s aromatic coconut soup with chicken
Tom Kha is one of Thailand's most popular soups—mild, creamy, and full of exotic flavors. With Yak Thai's Tom Kha paste, you can easily and authentically prepare this dish—without a complicated list of ingredients or hours of cooking.
Our Tom Kha paste already contains classic ingredients like galangal, lemongrass, and kaffir lime – perfectly balanced for an authentic taste experience. This way, you can make Tom Kha in under 20 minutes – without compromising on flavor.
Ingredients for 2 servings of Tom Kha soup
Preparing Tom Kha is quite simple and quick. You'll need a maximum of 20 minutes to prepare this delicious and authentic Thai dish.
Just follow our cooking instructions.
| chicken meat | 200 - 300 g (bite-sized pieces) |
| Fresh mushrooms (champignons or oyster mushrooms | 100 g (quartered) |
| spring onion | 1 piece |
| Tom Kha Paste | 1 - 2 tablespoons |
| tomato | 1 (quartered) |
| Water | 250 ml |
| Coconut milk | 250 ml |
| fish sauce | 1 - 2 tbsp (season to taste) |
| lime juice | 1 - 2 tbsp (season to taste) |
| Lemongrass (for decoration only, is already in the paste) |
Preparation of Tom Kha soup:
- Wash the ingredients and cut them as described in the list of ingredients
- Bring water to a boil in a pot. Stir in the Tom Kha paste and dissolve well. The typical Tom Kha aroma of galangal, lemongrass, and kaffir lime will begin to develop.
- Add the chicken to the flavored broth and simmer over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes until cooked through.
- Add mushrooms, tomatoes and spring onions to the pot and simmer for another 3-4 minutes.
- Now add the coconut milk and mix well. The soup shouldn't boil vigorously, but rather just simmer – this keeps the coconut milk nice and creamy.
- Season with fish sauce and lime juice. You can vary this according to your taste—more lime juice for freshness, more fish sauce for depth.
- Serve the Tom Kha soup hot, ideally garnished with fresh coriander or Thai basil. Serve with jasmine rice or simply enjoy on its own.
Did you already know that
Tom Kha literally means “cooked galangal”
The name of the soup refers directly to one of its main ingredients – galangal, a root similar to ginger, which is valued in Thai cuisine for its lemony-spicy aroma.
Tom Kha is not automatically spicy
Unlike many other Thai dishes, Tom Kha is often mild and creamy – perfect for beginners to Thai cuisine or for those who don't like it too spicy.
Tom Kha is a classic of Thai medicinal cuisine
Ingredients such as galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime are considered digestive and anti-inflammatory in traditional Thai medicine.
In Thailand, Tom Kha is often eaten for breakfast
While it is usually served as an appetizer or light dinner in Europe, Tom Kha is also a popular breakfast dish in Thailand.
