Chicken in Coconut Milk Soup (Tom Kha Gai)

prep time:: 15 min
total time:: 30 min

Serves 4

Tana Meginnis

A great soup from the Chiang Mai Cooking School.

ingredients

10 ounces Chicken breast - sliced
2 cups coconut cream
1 cup coconut milk
5 thin slices of galangal (available at 99 Ranch Market)
2 stalks of lemongrass - lower 1/3 only sliced into 1 inch pieces
4 large shallots sliced
10-15 small chillies (cut in half lengthwise)
7 ounces straw mushrooms
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 lime leaves
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 cup cilantro chopped
2 green onions (sliced)

directions

1
Pour the coconut cream and milk into wok on high heat. Add the galangal, lemongrass, shallots chillies and mushrooms and bring to a boil.
2
Simmer for 3-5 minutes, then add chicken and stir. Add the fish sauce and lime leaves and bring to a boil.
3
Add half the cilantro and turn off the heat. Adjust seasoning to taste.
4
Serve garnished with remaining cilantro and green onions.
5
Don’t eat the galangal, lemon leaves and lemongrass.
6
For a more substantial meal, serve over rice.

notes

This is easy to vary - you can use shrimp instead. Thin the soup with chicken broth. Very finely cut lemon grass can replace the larger pieces. Also: Coconut cream is located in the coconut milk section at 99 Ranch. Trader Joes has coconut milk.

Source: Tana