Tom Kha (Lemongrass Coconut Soup)

Tom kha, a lemongrass and coconut soup and a Thai classic. If you want fragrant, citrusy, and pungent flavors in a broth, this is for you.

Cook Time 30

Course dinner, Side Dish, Soup

Cuisine Asian, Southeast Asian, thai

Servings 6

4 slices galanga if you can't find this, just skip to the ginger
4 slices ginger
1/2 onion brown or white
1 tomato medium-sized one ideally, or a handful of tiny tomatoes (e.g. cherry, grape, etc.)
1 stalk lemongrass chop into chunks (diagonal cross-sections)
3-4 kaffir lime leaves fresh is best, but totally okay if you've got dried. Finely slice if fresh. Crush in your hands and sprinkle over soup, if dried.
1/2 lime lemon, okay
2-3 tbspn tom yum paste
1/2 cube chicken bouillon
coconut milk 1/2 of a regular can, or all of a tiny can (about 1 cup)

Boil half a pot of water on medium-high heat
Add galanga, ginger, onion, tomato, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves
Let come to a boil, and turn down to medium-heat to simmer until onions and tomatoes are "melted"/easily come apart. This is important! Keep simmering until the tomato and onion are practically melting. This creates flavor and serves as a good timer for the other ingredients to infuse the broth. (About 20 minutes)
Add tom yum paste, coconut milk, chicken bouillon.
Stir together. Salt to taste. Simmer for another 10-15 min.
Squeeze in lime

Keyword coconut milk, kaffir limes, lemongrass, soup, tom kha, tom yum