Thai Coconut Soup, or tom kha, is a classic Thai soup that’s so much more intensely flavored than most western soups, it’ll wake you up, tingle your taste buds and make your nose run (in the best way.)
This soup is completely different from all the other soups that I make and that’s why I love it. There’s not a clove of garlic, pepper grinder, or hunk of Parmesan cheese in sight.
The ingredients are beautiful in themselves, falling into a palette of zesty flavorful greens that make up the backbone of flavors, along with the less assertive but luminescent whites of the onion, mushrooms, baby bok-choy, chunks of chicken and coconut milk
The soup gets its beautiful salmony color from the chili and red curry pastes. I was happy to discover them in new smaller 4 oz sizes, which is perfect for someone who cooks Asian food only occasionally.
The only ingredient you might have trouble finding a stalk of lemongrass. I found mine hanging out all by itself in a bin shoved against the corner of one of the produce shelves, looking a little worse for wear. It has a unique flavor so it’s worth it if you can locate it, but don’t worry if you can’t find it. You can also buy lemongrass paste in the Asian section of your supermarket.
Once you’ve gathered your Thai ingredients you’ll have them on hand for future recipes like my Spicy Thai Spaghetti Salad, and my Thai Beef Salad.
If you’d like to make a vegan version of this soup, substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth, Tamari sauce for the fish sauce, and tofu for the chicken.
Reader Rave ~
“This is the perfect soup for a gray winter’s day. Thanks for the lovely and luscious recipe :-)” ~Amy
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 white onion, sliced
- 1 1/2 inch piece of peeled fresh ginger, minced
- 1 stalk lemongrass, upper and outer leaves trimmed off, peeled and halved the long way
- 2 small hot peppers, sliced
- 1 can coconut milk (DON'T use coconut creme...that's for cocktails)
- 1 Tbsp chili paste
- 1 Tbsp red curry paste
- 2-3 Tbsp fish sauce
- 2 cups cooked chicken
- 1 head baby bok choy, sliced
- a couple of handfuls of sliced mushrooms
- handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
- juice of 1 lime
- salt to taste
- minced red bell pepper for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Put the chicken stock and water in a soup pot, along with the onion, ginger, stalk of lemongrass and sliced hot peppers. Simmer over medium low heat for about 15 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk, pastes, fish sauce, chicken, mushrooms and bok choy. Let it simmer for another 15 minutes until the vegetables are just tender.
- Add the lime juice, cilantro and salt to taste. Remove the lemongrass and serve.
Thanks for pinning my Thai Coconut Soup!
20 Comments
Donna L.
February 6, 2019 at 4:50 pmHi Sue – This looks delicious! I can’t find lemon grass in my area. Is there something else I can use (perhaps purchase online)? Thank you.
Sue
February 6, 2019 at 5:14 pmHi Donna! There are a lot of flavors going on in this soup, so if you have to leave out the lemongrass it won’t be a huge problem. You can also use lemongrass paste, which comes in a tube or a jar, and might be more available in the Asian section of your local large supermarket.
Shelley
February 21, 2014 at 5:41 amI just discovered your website and seriously loving it! It love Thai coconut soup and this one looks delicious. I buy the larger Thai chili pasts and freeze it in dollops of 1 tbsp. on aluminum foil, freeze it solid and then keep it in freezer bags…this way, you just thaw a dollop as you need it.. Hope this helps. Shelley
Sue
February 21, 2014 at 6:55 amWelcome in Shelley — and thanks for the tip, I should do that with a lot of my more exotic Thai condiments!
Sue
July 30, 2018 at 8:30 pmI love the freezing tip, Shelley, that’s so smart.
Sarah (Snippets of Thyme)
February 10, 2012 at 3:11 amWe absolutely love this dish and you really made it look delicious in your photos! In fact, we need to get to our Thai Kitchen restaurant really soon…we can’t go long without Thai food.
amy@currylime
February 10, 2012 at 1:57 amThis is the perfect soup for a gray winter’s day. Thanks for the lovely and luscious recipe :-)
annie
February 9, 2012 at 2:43 pmI must try this…it looks delicious and I love your photos of the finished soup and the ingredients…so pretty.
Magnolia Verandah
February 8, 2012 at 10:54 amI love Thai flavours whatever the region – one for my cooking journal in readiness for the cooler weather. Lovely!
bemelodious
February 7, 2012 at 10:32 pmThis comment has been removed by the author.
bemelodious
February 7, 2012 at 10:33 pmNice recipe! I just want to make a quick correction that Thai food is technically Southeast Asian food not “East Asian” as you stated in your post. East Asian food would hail from China, Korea, Japan, etc.
A Trifle Rushed
February 7, 2012 at 8:30 pmWhat a fantastic soup, perfect for winter. Lemongrass is widely available in UK supermarkets, ‘thai’ cooking is huge here!
Mary
February 7, 2012 at 8:23 pmThat is absolutely gorgeous soup! I’m not sure what to do with a recipe that does not include garlic though… I probably would have added it without even thinking about it!
Rose
February 7, 2012 at 5:25 pmThat looks yummy! I LOVE and cook Thai food on a regular basis. Living in Vancouver we are lucky enough to be able to get all the ingredients such as lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves easily.
Barbara
February 7, 2012 at 4:59 pmAnd it’s soooooo much fresher than anything you get at a Thai restaurant!
From the Kitchen
February 7, 2012 at 4:29 pmYes, please, to anything in the Thai food area! We are fortunate to have a wonderful Thai restaurant nearby. There are also several Thai grocery stores. Thanks for another delicious recipe.
Best,
Bonnie
Valerie
February 7, 2012 at 4:27 pmWhat a delicious assortment of flavours! (I absolutely love coconut and curries…and food that makes my nose run.) :D
yummychunklet
February 7, 2012 at 3:05 pmI love Thai food, so this soup is right up my alley!
Heather @girlichef.com
February 7, 2012 at 3:01 pmMmmm…I love these flavors! And I can’t go without at least one can of coconut milk in my pantry and a jar of Thai red curry paste in my fridge- love the stuff!
Rebecca Subbiah
February 7, 2012 at 2:53 pmlove this soup