Tom Kha is a Thai coconut soup made with coconut milk simmered with galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, shallots and garlic. My vegetarian & vegan version uses plenty of vegetables and mushrooms that soak up the fragrant, creamy broth. Lemon juice, chilies and soy sauce bring a mix of spicy, sweet, sour and umami flavors. It’s a warm, comforting soup that pairs well with rice noodles or steamed rice.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Soup
  • Cuisine: Thai, World

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or sunflower oil or sesame oil)
  • ⅓ cup onions (– sliced, can use pearl onions or shallots)
  • ½ teaspoon garlic (– finely chopped)
  • ⅓ cup carrots (– chopped)
  • ⅓ cup capsicum (– chopped (green bell pepper))
  • ½ cup cauliflower florets (– chopped)
  • 2 cups or (200 grams) button mushrooms (– can swap with cremini or fresh oyster mushrooms)
  • ¼ to ⅓ cup baby corn (– sliced)
  • 1 tablespoon galangal (– sliced, or swap with 1.5 to 2 inches galangal)
  • 1 tablespoon or 2 small lemongrass stalks (– sliced)
  • 6 to 7 kaffir lime leaves
  • 6 bird's eye chilies (or small Thai red chilies, diagonally sliced, or add as required)
  • 1.5 cups water (or Vegetable Stock)
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt (or regular salt, add as required)
  • ⅓ cup or 1 small to medium tomato (– or 4 to 5 cherry tomatoes)
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce ((naturally brewed) or tamari, coconut aminos or Bragg's aminos)
  • 1 teaspoon palm sugar (or coconut sugar or raw sugar or brown sugar)
  • 1 tbsp shiitake mushroom powder (– optional)
  • 1 cup Coconut Milk (Thick)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice (or add as required)
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons coriander leaves ((cilantro), for garnish)

Method

Sautéing Veggies

  1. Heat oil in a pan. Add sliced shallots or onions finely chopped garlic.
  2. Saute for two minutes on low to low-medium heat.
  3. Add the chopped veggies and sliced mushrooms. You can add your choice of mix veggies to the soup.
  4. Mix well and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
  5. Add water. You can also add homemade vegetable stock.
  6. Now add the sliced lemongrass stalks, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and thai chilies.
  7. Season with salt and mix well. Keep in mind to add less salt as soy sauce which may have some salt, will be added later to the recipe.

Cook Veggies

  1. Cover and simmer on low to medium-low heat until the vegetables are tender. Do not overcook the veggies. This takes about 12 to 15 minutes.
  2. Then add tomatoes, mushroom powder (optional), palm sugar, and soy sauce. Mix and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes on medium-low heat.

Finish Tom Kha

  1. Add coconut milk. Mix well and heat for 1 to 2 minutes on a low heat. Do not boil so that the coconut milk does not get split.
  2. Lastly, add lemon juice and stir.
  3. Pour in soup bowls. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot. You can even place some hot noodles or steamed rice in the bowl and pour soup over the noodles or rice.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.