Tom kha kai

Tom kha kai, tom kha gai, or Thai coconut soup (, ; Lao: ຕົ້ມຂ່າໄກ່, ; literally "chicken galangal soup") is a spicy and sour hot soup with coconut milk in Thai.

Ingredients 
In Thailand, most tom kha kai recipes typically include coconut milk, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, Thai chili , coriander (or dill weed), straw mushrooms (or shiitake or other mushrooms), chicken, fish sauce, and lime juice. Fried chilies are sometimes added.

Variations 
In a Thai-style tom kha kai, dill weed is not used, whereas in a Lao-style tom kha kai, dill weed (phak si, ) is used. Dill weed is a common herb which is used in Lao cuisine. The Thais' answer to dill weed (known in Thailand as phak chi Lao (), since it is known locally as a Lao herb) in Thai tom kha is coriander or cilantro (phak chi, ).

There are other versions of tom kha kai made with seafood (tom kha thale, ), mushrooms (tom kha het, ), pork (tom kha mu, ) and tofu (tom kha taohu, ).

In the late 19th century, tom kha was not a soup. It was a dish of chicken or duck simmered in a light coconut broth with a generous amount of galangal. It was then served with a basic roasted chili jam as a dipping relish.

Gallery

See also

 List of soups

References

Further reading
 An Ancient Siamese Recipe for Tom Kha (1890 AD)
 Ayusuk, S., Siripongvutikorn, S., Thummaratwasik, P., & Usawakesmanee, W. (2009). "Effect of heat treatment on antioxidant properties of Tom-Kha paste and herbs/spices used in Tom-Kha paste". Kasetsart Journal Natural Science, 43(5), 305–312.
 Buasi, J. Joy's Thai Food Recipe Cookbook. Apornpradab Buasi.
 Sunanta, S. (October 2005). The globalization of Thai cuisine. In Canadian Council for Southeast Asian Studies Conference, York University, Toronto (pp. 1–17).

Category:Thai soups
Category:Chicken dishes
Category:Foods containing coconut
Category:Laotian soups