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Tom Kha Gai

A Thai coconut soup with chicken, galangal, ginger, Thai chiles, and lime leaves.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Ginger and lime match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,621 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Tom Kha Gai

Time10 minutes, then 10 more minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the broth

  1. Bring coconut milk and chicken stock to a boil.

  2. Add thinly sliced galangal, ginger, and Thai chiles to the soup.

  3. Simmer on medium for 10 minutes.

  4. Add chicken slices and stir occasionally until chicken is tenderly cooked.

  5. Add straw mushrooms (drained).

  6. Add thinly sliced lime leaves.

  7. Optional: cut a few cross-sections of lemongrass and add to the soup.

  8. Optional: cut tomatoes into cubes about 1" square and add to soup.

  9. Add more Thai chiles if it is not spicy enough.

  10. Simmer for 10 more minutes.

Season and serve

  1. Turn off the heat.

  2. Add brown sugar, lime juice, and fish sauce. Stir well.

  3. Top with chopped cilantro.

  4. Serve hot by itself or pour over rice. Dash chili sauce over the top to taste.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

573Calories
39 gProtein
31 gFat
40 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 13 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Coconut1/2 cup shredded (40g)283
Chicken100g cooked165
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Mushroom1/2 cup sliced (35g)15
Kaffir Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11
Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Lemongrass1 tbsp (6g)5
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Galangalnot in our table0
Leafnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Ginger + limetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,621 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Coconut + limetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together934 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Chicken + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,172 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-butyl acetate (fruity, banana).

  4. Coconut + gingertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,168 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Mushroom + tomatotop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,719 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Coconut milk
Provides the rich body and fat that give the soup its creamy texture.
Chicken breasts
Supply the protein; thin slices cook through quickly in the simmering broth.
Fish sauce
Adds savory depth and salty umami to the broth.
Lime juice
Adds acidity that brightens the rich coconut broth.
Brown sugar
Balances the sourness of lime and the saltiness of fish sauce with sweetness.
Kaffir lime leaves
Release a bright citrus aroma into the broth during simmering.

The step that matters

Adding the lime juice, fish sauce and brown sugar off the heat. Lime juice is acidic and fragrant compounds fade with prolonged heat, so seasoning after turning off the heat keeps the flavors bright. Boiling coconut milk hard can also cause it to separate, so keeping the soup at a gentle simmer helps keep it smooth.

Swap the tomato

The recipe marks tomato as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (coconut, milk, chicken, ginger, mushroom, lime, fish sauce):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Sweet potatofits about as well
  3. Tomatothe original
  4. Shallotfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against coconut, milk, chicken, ginger, mushroom, lime, fish sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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