Tom kha gai is a popular Thai soup made with galangal, coconut milk, lemongrass, and other flavoring ingredients. It can be made with chicken, fish, shrimp, tofu, or mushrooms and is often served with rice.
Tom kha gai, literally “boiled galangal chicken”, is a popular Thai soup known for its intense galangal flavor and rich creamy coconut broth. Galangal is a fibrous reddish-brown or pink rhizome, related to ginger but with a different flavor. It has been described as “pungent”, “peppery” and “floral”. Other standard ingredients in tom kha gai are lemon grass, garlic, chillies, kaffir lime leaves, mushrooms and fish sauce.
The essential ingredients for the flavor of Tom Kha Gai are coconut milk and galangal. Most commonly the soup is made with chicken, but many recipes offer the alternative of using fish or shrimp in place of all or part of the chicken. Suggestions for vegetarian versions are also common, with tofu or mixed mushrooms replacing the chicken.
Making tom kha gai is simple. Chicken broth and lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and a touch of palm sugar are brought to a boil. Peeled galanga peppers and bird’s eye, cut into thick slices, cook together with the other flavoring ingredients. The galangal and chiles are cut into large chunks because they are not meant to be eaten, just to add their flavor to the soup, and their large size makes them easy to avoid.
Canned coconut milk and fish sauce are added once the soup has reached a boil. For a richer flavor, all or some of the coconut milk can be substituted for canned coconut cream. The liquid from the fresh coconuts, called coconut juice, can also be used in place of some of the coconut milk – giving the tom kha gai an intense fresh coconut flavor – but it doesn’t thicken the soup, so milk is still needed. coconut or cream .
Cubed, diced, or shredded boneless chicken cooks in the flavored broth, absorbing the galangal flavor. Mushrooms are added with chicken. If the mushrooms take the place of the chicken, the soup becomes tom kha hed, “boiled galangal mushrooms”. For vegetarian versions, vegetable broth and soy sauce take the place of chicken broth and fish sauce.
Other flavoring elements are often included, such as onions or shallots, garlic, coriander root or leaves, diced tomato, and roasted chili paste. In Laos, and the parts of Thailand bordering Laos, dill is commonly used. Sometimes the soup is served garnished with coriander leaves, diced tomato or other colorful items. Tom kha gai is usually served with rice as a meal or by itself as a snack.
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