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thai-style chicken coconut soup with lemon & lime

(1 rating)
heidicookssupper avatar
Recipe by
Heidi Hoerman
@heidicookssupper
Hingham, MA

This soup, reminiscent of Tom Kha Gai, is made with easily found ingredients. Like many a homemade soup, you can vary the soup according to what you have at hand and substitute as I did. You can even substitute turkey for chicken. "Tom-kha-gai" roughly translates to "soup-galangal-chicken." Galangal is a root similar to ginger. Other ingredients of a true Tom kha gai include Keffir lime leaves and lemon grass. There are many more-authentic recipes for Tom Kha Gai on the Web and it is from these I got my inspiration.

(1 rating)
yield 3 -4
prep time 10 Min
cook time 10 Min
method Stove Top

Ingredients For thai-style chicken coconut soup with lemon & lime

  • 3 to 4 c
    chicken broth (preferably homemade to avoid a too-salty soup)
  • 1 bunch
    fine rice noodles, ramen noodles or vermicelli
  • 1 can
    straw mushrooms, drained and cut in half (other canned or thinly sliced raw mushrooms may be substituted)
  • 1/2 c
    red bell pepper, julienned
  • 1 md
    lemon, juice only (optionally add the zest)
  • 1 md
    lime, juice only (optionally add the zest but this can be bitter)
  • 8 oz
    cooked chicken, roughly chopped
  • 1 Tbsp
    thai fish sauce (nam pla, sometimes called thai seasoning sauce)
  • 2 to 3 dash
    tabasco (as a substitute for thai chiles)
  • 1 to 2 Tbsp
    grated fresh ginger
  • 1 can
    coconut milk, unsweetened (light okay)
  • 1 to 2 Tbsp
    brown sugar (if needed to adjust tartness)
  • 2 c
    fresh spinach, basil or cilantro, coarsely chopped

How To Make thai-style chicken coconut soup with lemon & lime

  • 1
    In a medium soup pot, bring chicken broth to a simmer and add the noodles. Let the noodles simmer slowly as you prepare and add the other ingredients. Note: if you are using fresh mushrooms, slice them thinly and give them a five-minute head start in the boiling broth before adding the noodles.
  • 2
    Add the rest of ingredients (but not the spinach, cilantro, or basil) to the broth. Simmer slowly.
  • 3
    After the mixture has simmered for about 5 minutes, taste and adjust the seasoning with Thai fish sauce (for saltiness), Tabasco and ginger (for heat) and brown sugar (for sweetness). If you wish to add a stronger taste of lemon or more bitterness from the lime, add in some zest of each.
  • 4
    As soon as the noodles are done, add the spinach, cilantro or basil. Simmer one more minute and serve hot.
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