Tom Kha Gai: coconut and galangal soup
ต้มข่าไก่ · Tom Kha Gai
When the air turns cool, this is the soup I make first. Galangal and lemongrass warm the body from the inside, and coconut milk makes it gentle enough for any evening. My father made it when someone in the house felt run down. Tom means boiled, kha is galangal, and gai is chicken. The soup is named for its most important ingredient.
Autumn. Serves 2, easily doubled. About 25 minutes.
Tom Kha Gai by Sukhālaya
Ingredients
1 cup chicken stock
1 can (400 ml) coconut milk
4 thin slices fresh galangal
1 stalk lemongrass, cut and bruised
3 makrut lime leaves, torn
150 g chicken thigh, thinly sliced
½ cup oyster or straw mushrooms
1 small tomato, cut into wedges
2 dried red chilies
1 to 1½ tbsp fish sauce
½ tsp palm sugar
1½ tbsp fresh lime juice
Cilantro, to finish
Method
Bring the stock and half the coconut milk to a gentle simmer. Add the galangal, lemongrass, lime leaves and dried chilies, and simmer for 5 minutes to let them open up.
Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes, until just done.
Add the mushrooms, tomato and the rest of the coconut milk. Keep it at a low simmer, because boiling will split the coconut milk.
Season with fish sauce and palm sugar. Turn off the heat, then stir in the lime juice.
Taste. It should be rich, sour and salty, with a gentle heat. Finish with cilantro.
Why it’s good in autumn: galangal and lemongrass are warming and good for digestion, which is what the body wants as the weather cools.
