Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai Soup)

 Several years ago my son James and I discovered a Thai restaurant and in addition to my standbys of Pad Thai and Massaman Curry we ordered Coconut Chicken soup and it was delicious!   That particular restaurant is really the only one that has soup this good.  

In July of 2020, I got COVID-19 (luckily I didn't lose my taste or smell) and my son and his fiancé went to that restaurant, got a tub of this soup, and brought it to me.  It was absolutely delicious and exactly what I needed and I craved it.  Obviously, it was not practical to keep getting takeout (especially while I was quarantined) so I found a recipe and had my mom pick up the "exotic" ingredients and made it at home.  It was almost as delicious at that restaurant.   I've done some experimenting and tweaking and now have my ultimate homemade version of Tom Kha Gai.

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai)

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 medium onion, sliced into thin wedges 
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
5-6 Thai chilies chopped
3 inches galangal (or ginger) cut in 1/2 inch pieces 
1 stalk of lemongrass, cut in 2 pieces
2 Tablespoons Thai red curry paste 
1 Tablespoon Tom Kha paste

4 cups chicken broth 
2 cups cooked chicken 
1 can coconut cream*
2 cans coconut milk
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 can baby corn (cut in bite size pieces if needed)

2 Tablespoons coconut aminos 
1 1/2 Tablespoons fish sauce 
3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice 

Optional:
3 drops doTerra Lemongrass essential oil 
5 drops doTerra Thai Cuisine essential oil 

Directions 

In a large pot melt the coconut oil and add the onion, garlic, chilies, galangal, lemongrass, red curry paste, and Tom Kha paste. Sauté 5-10 minutes until onions are soft and just starting to brown

Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.  

Remove the galangal chunks and lemongrass pieces

Add the coconut cream, coconut milk, chicken, baby corn, and mushrooms.

Simmer for 20 minutes or until mushrooms are desired consistency

Add coconut aminos, fish sauce, and lime juice 

Simmer about 5 more minutes  

Tips and Hints 

• *Make sure you use unsweetened coconut cream and not cream of coconut which is essentially sweetened condensed coconut milk and has added sugar which is great for coconut desserts but not a savory soup 

• Red jalapeno can be substituted for the Thai peppers

• I found the Thai chilies, lemongrass, and galangal at my local Asian store 

• You can add more or less chilies to taste 

• Add more red curry paste, Tom Kha paste, coconut aminos, and fish sauce to taste. 

• You can use uncooked chicken and simmer until the chicken is cooked in step two, but I love to use rotisserie chicken from Costco