Tom Kha Gai

“Absolutely wonderful flavor.Highly recommended.Don’t be affraid of the hot chili, the coconut milk neutrolizes the hot.The soup actually has a sweet flavor.The broth is thinner than you’d expect, but it doesn’t distract from the recipe at all.I found the time estimates a little short, give yourself a little extra time.I found fresh galangal root and lime leaves impossible to find on short notice.The local Asian market doesn’t stock them.You really need a Thai or Vietnamise grocer.The Asian grocer recommended substituting Ginger root for the galangal root, and Lemon peels for the lime leaves.Both of these worked out fine, you just have to separate them out before serving.”

“Incredible flavor, easy and quick but tastes like an all day affair.”

“There seems to be a lot of coconut milk for such a small quanitity of stock.I also think there is too much chicken in this recipe and will use less than 1 lb.It is only 3 cups so the ratio of 1 1/4 lbs of chicken to 3 cups of soup just doesnt jive”

“My husband doesn’t care much for chicken, and he just loves this recipe! I highly reccomend it since it is very tasty, and easy to make!”

“I tried many Tom Kha Gai recipes this one is my favorite. We get the galangal root and lime leaves from our local Asian market that specializes in Chinese and Filipino foods. I’m going to have to try the palm sugar as Sascha suggested. I like to reserve half of the coconut milk and put it in at the last boil. It makes the final color of the soup brighter.”

“I love this soup! I have never made it until today. I had some chicken thighs I poached to cook. I took the skins off after cooking and cut the meat into chunks. It came out great.I ran out of prepared broth, so I used a concentrate that made 3 1/2 cups with the two 12 oz cans of milk. This was just the right amount after it simmered for a t. Came out a little thick, but still soupy. I omitted the Thai chiles as my 7 year old would not have any of it if I didn’t. I put in a teaspoon or so of sriracha. It still was spicy from the galangal. If you have never used fresh galangal and are just now experimenting with it like me, USE LESS. There is no real measurement to how much to use, but I cut a small amount (appx 1 Tablespoon) and 2 T of ginger root. BIG mistake. I loved it and he complained about the spices. If you are trying to get your children to appreciate all cultures of food and open their palates, then please use less than I did. I would also cut the kaffir lime leaves in half to start and tweak it later to see if your kiddos will like it then.I would also recommend getting a spice pouch (your local Asian food store should have them) for the lemongrass and ginger/galangal bits to remove them or to isolate them from the rest of the meats and veggies. It can tend to be a bit overpowering to have chunks of them. (Unless you swing that way :D)Good news, he still ate it and the Earth stayed young.The flavors are amazing, just like in a restaurant. I just had the chicken with FRESH brown criminis (my mushroom of choice) quartered and it came out where they shrank in the broth, but are packed with flavor. Next time I will add carrots, zucchini, tomatoes and OMG cabbage! to my soup for more textures. There is nothing better than having this soup with those added textures and that will mimic my fave restaurants style. Good luck to those who are trying something new and happy taste buds!”

“This recipe was a fantastic base for a little personal adjustments. SO GOOD.
I added more chicken, one whole leg with skin and bone for richer flavor, zucchini, red bell pepper, anaheim pepper ’cause I can’t do very spicy. The galangal root is essential to get the right note in Thai soup.And in this recipe it made the soup so tasty wonderful.”

“We really liked this recipe, although we did make a few changes. First of all, we doubled this recipe. Instead of chicken, I opted for shrimp and tofu. I sauteed and added half an onion (I would use the whole onion next time) and 3 carrots (more carrots would’ve been good, too). I used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. Once I sauteed the carrots and onion for about 5 minutes, then I proceeded with the recipe as directed. I didn’t have galangal, so I just upped the ginger, which I thinly sliced instead of minced. I used 2 stalks of lemon grass cut into 1 inch pieces. I used less than the called for amount of tomatoes, but I think I will up the tomatoes next time as it could’ve used a bit more. The recipe turned out great. I was pleased with the results! I’m excited I can now make one of my favorite Thai dishes at home!”

“So delicious and so easy to prepare! Tastes just like in the restaurants. I didn’t even use the “fancy” ingredients like kaffir lime leaves or fresh galangal root. Used substitutions as found by another reviewer (lemon peel and ginger, respectively). Now I don’t have to go to a Thai restaurant when I’m craving this soup.”

“Beautiful recipe, perfect for a winter night.Really popular when made for others!”

“We had a small dinner party and this soup and Shrimp Pad Thai were the culinary experiments for the evening, my husband actually did all the cooking this time.This soup was such a big hit!It was spicy in my opinion, I usually get a 2 out of 5 on a spicy scale in restaurants, this was at least a 3 so edible, but it had some kick.We used fresh ginger, we couldn’t find galangal so used the ginger as a substitute as recommended in other reviews.I will make this again, it was delicious!”

“Tastes just like I love it from the restaurants! I would just say that it is important to not use light coconut milk. make sure coconut is the first ingredient. I didn’t want to mess with the chilies, so I used crushed red pepper flakes, about 1 tea for medium heat. omitted the tomatoes. used fresh mushrooms. don’t leave out the lemon grass, but do leave it in larger pieces so it is easy to pick out before serving. I need to add one extra tb of sugar to help balance the sweet and sour. Thanks for sharing! loved it!!”

“Great recipe! Was a hit with the whole family. Give it some time to get the flavors in before serving.Makes a big difference :o)”

“This is wonderful. I no longer have to drive half way across town just to get a decent bowl of Tom Kha! Thank you so much for posting, I will be using this a lot over the years to come.”

“This was really good. I just came back from Thailand and was craving this soup.In the future, I will probably add a little water or broth to the coconut milk, because it was ever so slightly thicker than what I had in Thailand.I used just one tomato, and added sauteed onion and garlic to it.Didn’t have lemongrass or lime leaves (subbed a TB of zest of lime as other suggested). Really great recipe!A keeper for sure!”

“loved it!We did make some modifications due to what was in the store.Use roasted chiles in a jar, minced galangal in a jar, white mushrooms, lime zest instead of leaves, and one of the coconut milks was ‘light’.We also skipped the tomatoes and cilantro, as our local restaurant doesn’t serve it that way.”

“This was gorgeous. I made it with less chile because we don’t like things too spicy, and I had to omit the lime leaf since I couldn’t get them here. Otherwise, It was very good even with those minor changes.Update: I’ve made this so many times now.I’ve found that using palm sugar instead of brown sugar helps give it a more authentic flavor.”

“This soup is terrific and very close to the one we get at our favorite Thai restaurant.I also used sliced white mushrooms instead of the straw mushrooms.I didn’t use the tomatoes, but did everything else according to the recipe.Hubby was pretty impressed.”

“This is better than I get at our local 5* Thai Restaurant!!Thanks!”