One of Braydon’s favorite things to eat in the whole wide world is Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Chicken Soup). We have a favorite Thai restaurant near us, and their Tom Kha Gai is one of the only foods on earth that Braydon craves and can’t resist; he just loves the stuff. Recently I became bound and determined to figure out how to make Tom Kha Gai, and –specifically—to try to replicate the specific version of it that Braydon loves so much at our favorite Thai restaurant. After meshing and molding and tweaking from a whole bunch of different recipes I took from cookbooks and online, I finally am pretty sure that I’ve mastered it (or at least come as close as I think I will to mastering it). It is still not as good as at the restaurant, but when we can’t go out to eat (which we rarely can), this will surely do the trick in place of it! My recipe below.
One of my favorite Thai dishes is Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing. I especially love Thai salads made with Napa cabbage. I also really love the combination of nut or seed dressings over roasted cauliflower and/or broccoli (for example, roasted cauliflower with Tahini sauce is one of my absolute favorite Middle Eastern dishes!). So, I set out to combine all these things into one all-encompassing Thai-esque salad. It turned out great—and the roasted veggies made the salad warmer and perfect for a fall supper! My recipe below.
This Soup & Salad dinner was a big hit this week at our house—especially with Braydon!
Heather’s Thai Coconut Chicken Soup
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 32 ounce container reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 6 quarter-size slices fresh ginger
- 1/2 medium-sized onion, sliced very thin
- 1 pound boned, skinned chicken breast or thighs, cut into 1-in. chunks
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 2 cups bite-sized pieces of broccoli and cauliflower
- fresh juice of 2-3 limes
- 2-3 tablespoons Fish Sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1-4 tablespoons Thai Chili Paste (depending on how spicy you want it)
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
In a medium saucepan, combine coconut milk, broth, ginger, and onion. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Let simmer about 20 minutes. Add everything else except the basil and cilantro. Continue to simmer until chicken is cooked through, 5 to 10 minutes. Discard ginger pieces. Add basil and cilantro. Cook for just a minute or two more. And serve! (Braydon and I add more Chili Paste to our soup just before eating— the kids do not!)
Heather’s Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing
Dressing:
- 3/4 cup smooth creamy peanut butter
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons Thai Chili Paste
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- fresh juice of 2 limes
- 1/2 cup hot water
Combine all ingredients in a jar, cover with tight fitting lid, and shake until combined.
Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli:
Place clean, dry cauliflower and broccoli florets on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees, turning once or twice, for about 20 minutes, or until vegetable pieces are slightly soft and lightly browned.
To Assemble Salad:
Combine whatever salad ingredients you like with roasted veggies. Toss with dressing. Serve sprinkled with chopped peanuts. Salad ingredients can be any combination you like—such as Napa cabbage, red peppers, shredded carrots, etc.
That soup looks A-MAZ-ING. Do you think it would work with tofu instead of chicken? Any ideas of something I could substitute for fish sauce?
Thanks in advance for any input you have!
Hi Jen!!!!!!!
I haven’t tried making a vegetarian version of the soup yet, but I have been thinking of trying it soon, and here is what I’m planning to do:
* substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth
* use tofu instead of chicken
* use Thai Golden Mountain Sauce instead of Fish Sauce (Golden Mountain Sauce is a bottled/canned sauce). If you don’t want to deal with trying to find Golden Mountain Sauce, you can just add salt instead of fish sauce. I also googled “vegetarian fish sauce” and found lots of recipes to make vegetarian versions.
Also, lots of Thai restaurants include baby corn in their Tom Kha Gai. Braydon and I don’t like baby corn, so I don’t add it to our soup, but if you like baby corn that’s another thing to throw in to bulk up the veggies even more!
Jen, let me know if you try this soup! Ok?!
~Heather
Thanks so much Heather! I am definitely going to make this (I looooove spicy Thai coconut dishes)–hopefully next week. There are tons of specialty Asian grocery stores in my area, so I don’t think I’ll have any trouble finding Golden Mountain Sauce. I will let you know how it turns out!
A recipe for the soup I have been eyeing on You Tube uses coconut cream instead of coconut milk and a variety of mushrooms and both chicken and fish. What would be the difference between using coconut cream and coconut milk in your opinion? Just thickness?
Coconut cream is much thicker (and also contains a *lot* more calories and fat!!!) than coconut milk. I’ve never used it for soups. Sweetened coconut cream (cream of coconut or “cream of coco”) is what we use to make pina coladas!
PS. The peanut dressing you make is also good over roasted vegetables and brown rice. It makes a great meal.
Yes, absolutely. It is also great with noodles (i.e., Peanut Noodles!)!
Oh, and also as a dipping sauce for chicken satay, steamed dumplings, or fresh spring rolls!!!!!
What are peanut noodles?
If you live near an Asian market, try to pick up some fresh lemongrass. I think that will make a huge difference in making your soup more authentic tasting. I’ve never had broccoli and cauliflower in that soup before, but it seems like an interesting addition!
Hope the kids had a fun Halloween!!
Ashley, Yes– I know, you’re absolutely right about the lemongrass. All of the Asian markets around us are out of our way and require a special trip (i.e., they are not on my direct route from home-to-work!)… so, I’ve tried to perfect this soup as best as possible without lemongrass (knowing I won’t normally have it on hand). Re: the broccoli and cauliflower… that is how our favorite Thai restaurant serves it, so I make it that way too. As it turns out, in researching recipes, I found a bunch that included broccoli and cauliflower (I was a bit surprised by that actually!). Thanks for reading! ~Heather
Ok, so I made the soup last night and overall I really liked it! I will definitely make it again, though I’ll probably make a few modifications. Here is what I did:
1 can coconut milk–I used “light” coconut milk because that’s what I had on hand, and it was fine. But, I really like the creaminess of coconut milk, so next time I will probably use 2 cans (and then add an extra cup of vegetables, because I love having lots of vegetables in soups).
1 32 ounce container reduced-sodium chicken broth–My favorite way to make vegetarian broth is to use something called Superior Touch Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base. I get it at the local co-op but I think you can even find it at Super Target now. It is a base that you mix with hot water (1 tsp base for each 8 ounces of water) and it makes a great broth. I use a 6 cup pan, heated up the water on the stove, added the base, mixed it up, then added the broth to the soup already hot.
6 quarter-size slices fresh ginger–No changes here. Though I will say it was hard to find the ginger pieces to remove them at the end! (it didn’t help that I had added carrots because they look so much alike). I might put the ginger slices in a tea ball next time so I don’t have to search for them.
1/2 medium-sized onion, sliced very thin–I probably used more like 1/2 of a large onion, and it was the perfect amount.
1 pound boned, skinned chicken breast or thighs, cut into 1-in. chunks–I used a 15 ounce package of organic extra firm tofu. In general, I prefer tofu when it’s been browned/fried, and so that’s what I did with the tofu prior to adding it to the soup. I cut it into 1 inch squares, added it to a large saucepan (with a lid–the oil splashes a lot) along with a couple tbsps of olive oil. I’m guessing you’ve fried tofu before so you know how hard it is to get the sides evenly browned. I don’t aim to have every side evenly brown. I put the burner on medium or medium-low, and turn the tofu with a spatula every few minutes until most sides are slightly brown. In retrospect, the pieces of tofu were a little big for soup. Next time, I will probably cut the pieces smaller (around 1/2 inch square).
2 cups sliced mushrooms–I don’t like mushrooms, so I didn’t put any in the soup.
2 cups bite-sized pieces of broccoli and cauliflower–I ended up including about 4 1/2-5 cups of vegetables total (to replace the mushrooms): about 3/4 cup red peppers, about 3/4 cup sliced carrots, about 1 1/2 cups of broccoli and about 1 1/2 cups of cauliflower. Next time (when I add an extra can of coconut milk) I will add more carrots and more red peppers (and will include about 6 cups of vegetables total, probably divided equally between red peppers, sliced carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower).
fresh juice of 2-3 limes–I used 2 large limes and it was enough. Any more would have been too much.
2-3 tablespoons Fish Sauce–I found Thai Golden Mountain Sauce and used 2 1/2 tbsps
1 tablespoon brown sugar–no change
1-4 tablespoons Thai Chili Paste (depending on how spicy you want it)–I was making the soup for a friend who doesn’t like spicy stuff, so I only used 1 tbsp. That made it very slightly spicy. I like things fairly spicy, so I will probably try it with about 2 1/2 -3 tbsp next time.
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil–no change
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro–no change
There you go! If you ever make it vegetarian and have any other suggestions, let me know. Thanks again Heather!