Thai Coconut Soup

This Thai coconut soup is also known as Tom Kha Gai. It’s a coconut filled chicken and mushroom soup that’s packed with flavor. It’s perfectly balanced between sweet, salty, sour and spicy.

To start this soup, I poach two boneless skinless chicken breasts in chicken stock. After they are cooked, I shred them and add them back to the stock they cooked in which should be about two cups of liquid. Then I add a can of coconut milk, thinly sliced mushrooms, garlic, ginger, fish sauce and lime juice. This soup traditionally uses kaffir lime leaves, but they aren’t always that easy to find. So instead, I substitute a two-inch long piece of lime rind instead.

If you have access to fresh lemon grass, you can add that in too. I omitted it in the recipe because you usually have to trek to an Asian market to find it, and the soup is phenomenal without it.

After the soup has cooked and the mushrooms are tender, I remove it from the heat and add fresh basil, cilantro and green onions.

To serve, top each bowl with a little more fresh cilantro and chopped green onions.

Then garnish with some hot red pepper slices, which are totally optional.