Thai Coconut Soup (Tom Kha) Recipe (2024)

96 Responses

1. YES! PERFECT! Shrimp is on sale out here too, I will definitely make some of this this weekend. And I can never find lemongrass, though I do have the chili pasts 🙂

   1. That’s the nice part about this recipe…no lemongrass or chili paste needed 😉

      1. Actually, sriracha IS a chili paste/sauce.

         1. Yep, just with some extra added ingredients 🙂

   2. I found “Gourmet Garden Lemongrass Stir-in Paste” at the Publix Supermarket here in Lithonia Georgia or check Asian or your local farmers market.

2. Really great solutionizing!! The combination sounds perfect!

   1. Thank you! I knew there had to be a way to make what I wanted with what I had on hand 🙂

3. I was sitting in my living room the other day craving thai with an abnormal amount of coconut ingredients. I think I will be making a version of this, this weekend. Thanks for the reminder.

   1. I’m very glad I could help 🙂

4. This was very, very, good and very easy to make. This goes in my dinner rotation!

   1. Hi Jill!! That’s music to my ears 🙂 Thanks for checking in!

5. NOM NOM NOM. I want to eat it all day.

   I made a mistake and bought Goya coconut “cream”, which was coconut “juice” and SUGAR–rrrrrrrr, so it came out very sweet. But I’ll make it again with the real stuff.

   1. Hi there! Aw bummer :/ Sugar is so sneaky and in everything it seems. Glad you liked it!

6. Subbed Liquid Aminos for Fish sauce and added mussels plus topped with sliced avacado…..was SO delish!

   1. Oh oh oh!! Sounds soooo good! I love it when folks make recipes their own. You’ve made my mouth totally water 🙂

7. Hi, awesome recipe just made this, silly me didn’t have red paste so replaced it with chilli powder and chilli flakes i also decided i wanted more vegies so added some broccoli and silver-beet. It was the best!!! Thank You for your awesome recipes this is one of my favourite sites that inspires me each week when planning for the weeks meals 🙂

   Keah

   1. Hi Keah…I absolutely love it when readers take the recipes here and add their own twists! That, to me, is the true sign that you’ve embraced the art of cooking. Thank you SO much for letting me know that. It’s really a joy to be able to do this. Have a great day!

8. Seriously, easiest dish to make ever and soooooooo good. thanks Steph!!! amazing.

   1. You’ve inspired me to make it again very soon! Thanks for checking in Meg 🙂

9. Found this recipe through the Just Eat Real Food facebook page. Whipped it up before leaving for work this morning (adding some shredded bok choy) to bring as lunch. This is really fantastic! So easy, simple and quick! Definitely a keeper.

   1. That sounds like a perfect addition to the mix! I’m really happy you liked it 🙂

10. I made this tonight and it’s super easy and delicious! I can’t wait to make it again!

    1. Awesome!! I’m really glad to hear this Mary 🙂

11. Just made this and it was amazing. The only thing I did differently is to add some salt and some extra siracha. I got to use my homemade broth too so I am feeling extra healthy 🙂 Thanks for the recipe.

    1. Leah, you’re making me drool!! That’s no fair 😉 Now I want to make some more. In fact, this might be tomorrow’s dinner! Thanks for writing!

12. YUM! Eating this right now. Thanks so much for a super-delicious recipe!

    1. You’re very welcome!

13. If I wanted to make this in a crock pot, any idea how I could modify the ingredients or process?

    1. Hi Tim…I’d do the same ingredients and maybe cook for about 2 hours on high (possibly a bit more if the veggies are still not tender) then remove the lid in the last half of cooking so the broth isn’t as watery (as is the tendency with crock pot soups).

14. OMG, this is going on my short list of things to try to make this weekend along with your southwest chicken soup!!!! Thank you!

    1. Yay!! I’m glad you found it. You’re very welcome!

15. Oh my! Just got my Paleo Chef order of sriracha and made this right away! Yummy! Great flavor! Now if only I could get my 2 year old to eat it without twisting his face!

    1. Hi Erica! Paleo sriracha is a very good thing! Hope the little one eventually comes around 😉

16. Made with the addition of a thinly sliced onion, it was delicious! Thank you!

    1. Yay!! I’m really glad you enjoyed it 🙂

17. My hubby and I aren’t sohisticated Thai afficionatos, but we like what we’ve had so far at local Thai restaurants. I tried this tonite, and it took us about 3 spoonfuls to decide we liked the tastes. After one bowl we needed more, and after that one, we decided we want to eat this all the time. I will keep experimenting with adding different veggies. Tonite I slivered some scallions and spinach, because we had no protiens on hand.

    1. Yay!! I love that you want to experiment and develop different combinations!

18. Tried Tom Kha at a local Thai place this fall and became obsessed with finding a great Paleo version. This was easy, super-close to the original i tried, and I loved that it had simple ingredients. This is a favorite and in my rotation! Well done! 🙂

    1. Love hearing that!! I’m sure it’s not authentic but I think it mirrors it pretty well 🙂 Thanks for letting me know!

19. Tom Kha is one of the soups that does not require chili paste. However, you can use fresh chili instead if you want to spice it up. What you need is Galangal, in Thai called “Kha” (ginger can also be used for substitution if you can’t not find galangal in your area)

20. Great recipe, thanks Steph!

    Real easy to adapt to a kosher recipe too
    (just forgo the shrimp and fish-oil, and make sure the coconut milk does not contain any dairy).

    – Was more liberal with the ginger (nice kick)
    – Blend of sh*take/White mushrooms
    – 4 Tbsps of Sugar (I know this a health-friendly blog, but still…)

    1. Glad you adapted it for your tastes!! 🙂

21. Added some curry powder to mine. OMGSOGOOD…. I’m definitely making this again. Maybe tomorrow. Lol.

    1. Yay!! Curry powder sounds like a great addition!

22. I doubled the sriracha and added some spinach. Wow! I love it! 2nd bowl, here I come 🙂

    1. YUMMMM! Love those additions 🙂

23. This is probably one of the first recipes EVER, that tasted just as good as I had hoped AND was jut as easy to make! I did tear up some cabbage and added it to make the soup a little “heartier” but the broth alone was tasty enough 🙂

    1. Yay!! I’m so glad you liked it, Li!! That’s a great idea!

24. I saw this recipe on Facebook months ago and I kept thinking I should try it. I wish I hadn’t waited so long. I made it my own but it was so much better than I ever thought. I’m not sure what I made would still be called tom kha but I will make this again and again. I couldn’t find lemongrass and I didn’t have sriracha and I don’t like mushrooms. What I did have was some vegetables from my garden so I added some radishes, green onions, garlic and chives. I added 2 cayenne peppers and 4 serrano peppers. I also added some water chestnuts and some salt & pepper. It might not sound like the same soup – but I never would have made it without this. Thanks.

    1. Hi Bret, I’m so glad you liked it! 🙂

25. This Recipe was perfect!! Super easy and quick to whip up. I ended up using lower fat coconut milk and adding in water chestnuts. This is my new favorite soup recipe. Have you tryed freezing it yet?

    1. Hi Amanda,

       I haven’t tried freezing it yet. My main concern would be with the veggies possibly getting mushy.

26. I noticed the picture that accompanies the recipe has scallions in it. They aren’t included in the recipe – are they used as a garnish only, or should they be part of the soup while it’s cooking?

    1. Hi Allison…you could definitely add the white / light green part of a scallion or two to the broth as it’s cooking then garnish with the darker tops after cooking.

       1. It was delicious! I enjoyed the green onions with it. I had it for leftovers the next day at lunch and I think it was even better.

27. Found it a bit bland even with addition of lemongrass, added scallions, more sriracha, a heaping dollop of chili garlic paste. Guess I can’t love’em all, sorry!

    1. Hmmmm…first time I’ve heard that re: this recipe. Fish sauce perhaps?

       I’m not sure how long you’ve been Paleo, but sometimes when people are relatively new to it, their taste buds are still used to hyper-sweet, -salty, etc flavors that are found in more processed foods.

28. I had tom kha for the first time last week and fell in love with it. Your recipe was spot-on; it was so delicious.

    1. It’s flavors are just too easy to fall for. Thank you. 🙂

29. Used your recipe today to make my husband a “feel better” soup. I used vegetable broth and Shrimp adding, shallots, kale, Red bell pepper, snow peas, and carrots love the extra veg. I also doubled up the ginger, green onion, and siracha got a nice and spicy clear the sinuses soup lol

    Great soup thanks for sharing, hubby loved it!

    1. Awesome! 🙂

30. Hi
    I live in Ireland( Europe ) so am wondering where I would get fish sauce. It is not an ingredient I have seen anywhere or maybe I am looking in the wrong place.

    1. Hi Martha, You might find it in ethnic markets. If you can’t find it, you could use some mashed up anchovies.

    2. Late reply, but if I could get it in a supermarket in Poland, you should too in Ireland. Just look through the shelves with oriental thingies, like coconut milk, soy sauce, wasabi, etc.

31. OMG! This soup is AMAZING! I used shiitake mushrooms and added a little spaghetti squash. It tastes just like Pho!

    Amazing recipe!

    1. Thank you! I’m glad you like it. 🙂

32. I loveloveLOVE Tom Kha. I add more ginger because I love the stuff. Amazing.

33. Wondering if there’s an alternative for sriracha

    1. Maybe red pepper flakes? Some chopped thai chilies? Jalapeño slices?

34. Have you tried it with chicken, like you put in your ingredients list? Not too sure if I am a fan of soup with shrimp in it. I think it’s one of those recipes where it sounds a bit odd but will be delicious. I guess it’s trial and error. Can I add my own spices like chilli or black pepper

    1. Hi Adam,

       Yep, I’ve made it with chicken and shrimp before. It’s good. You can certainly dress it up with spices however you’d like!

       1. Thanks for the reply. I shall try all 3. Like I said I’m not really a fan of soup with shrimp in it, but that’s just going off recipes and thinking eww that doesn’t sound great. But we can’t go by in life thinking that doesn’t sound great. I’ve gotta man up and try it. I will also try it with shrimp and chicken and also just with chicken. I think I’ll be more of a fan of the soup with it being just chicken.

35. Apart from the super-awesome taste (damn, how I loved it!), I really enjoyed the ingredients I could get in a single grocery store, here, in Poland, where usually looking for things to prepare something oriental takes forever, with many quirky shops along the way, haha.

    Thanks a lot for the recipe, me and my wife were simply blown away… although deveining the shrimps took forever, lol ;). Yet, it was well worth it!

    Kudos and hugs!
    Bartek, Warsaw, Poland.

    1. That’s great, Bartek! I’m so happy you liked it. You can definitely make it with chicken if that’s easier 🙂

       My family is from the Warsaw area (great-grandparents, etc.) I’ve never been but I would love to go someday!

36. This looks great! I’m doing whole 30 right now (my second time), and I’m curious. What do you recommend in place of Sriracha to make it spicy?

    1. Hi Candi…I’ll be sharing this actually today on the Whole30 feed. My recommendation is some birds eye chili or chili flakes!

37. Cant wait for the thai green curry recipe!!!!

    1. Guess I need to work on it 😉

38. Thanks for this quick and easy delicious soup recipe. I just made it for lunch and it made me happy! I will definitely make it again. I need these kind of recipes since I am doing whole 30 this month! And soup is so perfect.
    I just found your website and I’m super excited to try more recipes!

    1. Hi Jill! Wow that is really great to hear. I’m glad you’re finding some new and interesting things here. Big smiles!

39. As if I didn’t already love your blog and all your recipes enough! I have been eating paleo for 2 years now, but one of my favorite foods is Thai and I can never seem to recreate the complex flavors to taste like our favorite restaurant. Tom Kha Kai is my favorite!! After pinning this a year ago, I finally had such a strong craving for it that I “broke down” and made it. It’s Ah-mazing!!! I’m kicking myself for not trying it sooner. The best part is its so simple and made with everything I almost always have on hand.
    I made it by simmering the soup part first and making Cracklin Chicken (salted only) then removed skin, chopped it, added it and the remaining items and simmer a little longer. My new addiction!
    Thank you once again for a great recipe!

    1. Hi Brittany! I’m soooo glad you gave it a try! Wow that combination you cooked up sounds incredible!

40. So delicious… There’s a reason this recipe is among the short list of “favorites.” Thank you, Steph! My 10-year-old daughter asked “Why don’t you make this more often?” Never mind that I just came across this recipe yesterday! 🙂 My husband pointed out that I could’ve used some of the shrimp stock he’d made and put in the freezer. I completely forgot we had some, so–oh shucks–we’re going to have to make this again very soon using the shrimp stock!

    1. Ahhhh I love it when the kiddos ask for recipes 🙂 So very cool! I bet it would be excellent with the shrimp stock!

41. Just made this from Just Eat Real Food on Facebook. It turned out great. here are my tweaks: 1) Double batch, duh!! 2) I did chop up one stick of lemongrass. 3) I used some homemade canned red chile sauce- it’s just hot chile with a little vinegar. 4) To get the needed sweetness that is missing, added coconut nectar. I think this may be paleo friendly. It is supposed to be much better than using sugar, and it has some tang that is good in Thai food. 5) added extra veggies to make a whole meal- eggplant, fresh green beans and sweet red peppers 6) used sliced sh*take mushrooms.
    This turned out tasting like the real deal at a good Thai place!!! I even used some really old shrimp from the freezer. They were tough, but, did add good flavor to the broth.
    It is so fast to make!!

    1. I’m glad you were able to make it your own!

42. Wow! Just made that for the first time and it was AMAZING!!! Thank you for making cooking Stupid Easy :)!!!

    1. Sweet!! Super glad to hear that, Jaymie!

43. Mmmm looks amazing! So I e never cooked with ginger. Do I remove the “rounds” before we eat? How big exactly do I cut the ginger?

    1. Yes, remove the rounds of ginger if you want or just eat around them. Around 1/4″ thickness should do it.

44. I don’t have fresh ginger. How much ground ginger powder would I add? This sounds delicious!!

    1. Start with 1/8 tsp teaspoon and go up from there. Ginger powder is quite strong!

45. can you use chicken broth instead of stock

    1. Yes, in a recipe like this they are essentially the same thing. On this site, I use stock and broth interchangeably though in a culinary sense they are different.

46. Just made this tonight, but was crushed to find out that I was out of mushrooms! I subbed with sliced zucchini and added some spinach and it still turned out delish! Thanks for the recipe 🙂

    1. Good idea Valerie! Glad you made it your own 🙂