Thai Tom Kha Coconut Soup
Quick, flavorful and surprisingly easy to prepare! This Thai coconut milk soup combines chicken, mushrooms, lemongrass, lime and chili in a rich balance of creamy, tangy, sweet and spicy flavors.
Updated : 23 September, 2026
Easy
About 30 min.
Ingredients
200 grams
Chicken fillet
500 milliliters
Chicken broth
150 grams
Mushroom
6
Cherry tomatoes
to taste
Ginger
to taste
Chili pepper
2
Lemongrass
1
Lime
2 tablespoon
Vegetable oil
200 milliliters
Coconut milk
to taste
Cilantro
1 teaspoon
Brown sugar
1 tablespoon
Oyster sauce
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
Prepare all the ingredients. Traditional Tom Kha is made with galangal and makrut lime leaves, but you can replace them with fresh ginger and finely grated lime zest.
Step 2
Peel the onion and ginger. Rinse them together with the cherry tomatoes and pat dry. Red onion or shallots work especially well. Cut the onion into medium-sized cubes, chop the lemongrass into small pieces and slice the ginger thinly. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half, leaving very small ones whole.
Step 3
Rinse the chicken breast, pat it dry and cut the fillet into medium-sized cubes.
Step 4
Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the onion, lemongrass, ginger and chopped fresh or dried chili. Adjust the amount of chili to taste. Cook over high heat for several seconds, stirring continuously.
Step 5
Add the chicken and cook for approximately 1 minute, stirring. Reduce the heat slightly if necessary to prevent the ingredients from burning.
Step 6
Pour in 1⅔–2 cups of chicken broth. You can use boiling water instead, although the flavor will be lighter. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10–15 minutes.
Step 7
Meanwhile, prepare the mushrooms. The original recipe uses canned shiitake mushrooms, but wood ear mushrooms or fresh oyster mushrooms also work well. Cut large mushrooms into small pieces, halve medium ones and leave small mushrooms whole.
Step 8
Add the cherry tomatoes and mushrooms to the pot.
Step 9
If using prepared Tom Kha paste, add it at this stage. Because such pastes usually already contain the necessary seasonings, taste the soup before adding sugar or fish or oyster sauce.
Step 10
Pour in the coconut milk and cook over medium heat for another 5–7 minutes. Do not allow the soup to boil vigorously, as the coconut milk may separate. If you did not use prepared Tom Kha paste, add the sugar, fish or oyster sauce, freshly squeezed lime juice and makrut lime leaves or finely grated lime zest.
Step 11
Taste the soup. It should have a rich balance of tangy, creamy, sweet and spicy flavors. Adjust any of these elements according to your taste, then serve hot.
Author note
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