Thai Tom Kha Gai -a coconut milk soup with mushrooms, chicken, ginger and lemongrass. This quick and easy recipe makes a satisfying, clean and delicious meal.
This post is sponsored by Truvia® Natural Sweetener.
Tom Kha Gai is a traditional Thai soup made with coconut milk, mushrooms, chicken, lemongrass, ginger, and kaffir lime leaves. It’s creamy, tangy, and has a slight kick to it for a belly-warming cozy soup that covers all the flavor bases.
Thai food is my ultimate comfort food, and making it at home is one of my most coveted rituals. I love the way my home smells while I’m cooking, and enjoy the combination of creamy, tangy, sweet flavors. I also love making Thai for friends and family, as it’s always an impressive crowd-pleaser!
This time of year, self-care, evolution and growth is on everyone’s mind. For me, wellness means consistency. This translates to cooking nourishing meals at home using fresh whole food ingredients. I see self-care as choosing a balanced lifestyle that you’re capable of maintaining in the long term, rather than urgently making too many changes at once.
I enjoy making traditional recipes cleaner or just a bit healthier so that I get the same satisfaction while maintaining my health goals. I also think it’s important to keep cooking fun, yet approachable. In this sense, all of the ingredients included in this recipe are those you can find at any grocery store. I find it can be difficult to track down kaffir lime leaves, so I replace them with lime zest and juice.
Traditionally, Tom Kha Gai includes cane sugar to give it a little sweetness, offsetting the heat and sour flavors. This soy-free, refined sugar-free approach to Tom Kha Gai makes for a clean, carb-conscious meal.
I use Truvia Natural Sweetener instead of cane sugar to keep the sweet but sugar-free. Truvia is a zero-calorie sweetener naturally sweetened from stevia leaf extract, which makes this soup keto-friendly. For those who are celebrating everyday wellness in the New Year, this is a great recipe to keep your palate pleased and to kick off your self-care routine.
Let’s hop to it!
How to Make Tom Kha Gai:
Heat the avocado oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the edges begin to brown, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Add the garlic and mushrooms and continue sauteing another 3 minutes, until mushrooms begin to sweat.
Add the remaining ingredients, stir well, cover the pot, and bring to a full boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook 20 to 30 minutes, until the soup is very aromatic and the chicken is cooked through.
Serve soup in big bowls with lime wedges and cilantro.
Recipe Adaptations:
- Replace the lime zest and juice with 10 kaffir lime leaves.
- Use oyster mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms instead of baby bellas
- Add another can of coconut milk for even creamier soup
- Add red chili sauce or a chopped jalapeno to make soup spicy (it is mild as written)
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Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 small yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 8 ounces mushrooms chopped
- 6 cups chicken bone broth
- 1 (15-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
- 1 large chicken breast chopped
- 1 (1-inch) nub ginger peeled and grated
- 2 stalks lemongrass peeled and chopped into 2-inch pieces *
- 2 Tbsp Truvia Natural Sweetener
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp lime zest
- 3 Tbsp lime juice
- 2 Tbsp red curry paste
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
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Heat the avocado oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the edges begin to brown, about 5 to 8 minutes.
-
Add the garlic and mushrooms and continue sauteing another 3 minutes, until mushrooms begin to sweat.
-
Add the remaining ingredients, stir well, cover the pot, and bring to a full boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook 20 minutes, or until the soup is very aromatic and the chicken is cooked through.
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Serve soup in big bowls with lime wedges and cilantro.
Recipe Notes
*Or 2 Tbsp lemongrass paste
This is SO good!
My changes: I added two slices of jalapenos to give it just a little heat. I also added 1 cup of snow peas and 1 cup of carrots because I wanted more vegies and a more colorful dish. (I have no idea if this kicks it out of paleo/keto because I am not a follower of those protocols)
I make my own chicken stock (I use a partially eaten rotisserie chicken cooked 3 – 4 hours in a crockpot in vegetable broth. Then I remove the bones/skin. I remove a bit of the fat by transferring to another container and then measuring it out — you can see the fat sticking to the surface of the containers)
All of that sounds so fantastic, Laura! I especially love the heat from the jalapeno. Thanks so much for your feedback!! xoxo 😀
Made this a few days ago; it was awesome! The red curry paste I used from our local Asian market was … spicy, especially on leftover day. Speaking of leftovers, I added some more mushrooms, cuz I guess we sought them out on day one, and some vermicelli noodles to give it some more substance for dinner. As for the chicken, I must have cut the pieces too small, as they were dried out in less than 15 minutes. Next time, and there will be!, larger, more consistent cutting up of the chicken and a check after 10 minutes. All in all, DELICIOUS!
I’m so happy you enjoy the soup, Dennis! Thanks so much for letting me know! Bummer about the chicken…hopefully larger pieces will help. Sometimes I cheat and use store-bought rotisserie chicken to ensure it stays nice and tender. Thanks so much for the sweet note! 😀 xo
yum yum easy to make packed full of flavour
So happy you like it, Deb!