Tom Kha Soup

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make Thai Tom Kha soup? Get everything on the list ready. The original recipe uses galangal and kaffir lime leaves. It's perfectly fine to swap these two for ginger and lime zest.

2. Step 2:

   

   Peel the onion and ginger. Rinse them along with the cherry tomatoes in cool water and pat them dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Red onion or shallot works best for this soup. Cut the onion into medium cubes. Chop the lemongrass into small pieces and cut the ginger into thin rounds. Halve the cherry tomatoes, leaving the very small ones whole.

3. Step 3:

   

   Rinse and dry the chicken breast. Cut the fillet into medium cubes.

4. Step 4:

   

   Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the onion, lemongrass, and ginger to fry. Add chopped chili pepper (fresh or dried). Adjust the amount of chili to your taste. Fry everything over high heat for a few seconds, stirring constantly.

5. Step 5:

   

   Add the chicken to the pot and cook, stirring, for about a minute (you can lower the heat a little so nothing scorches).

6. Step 6:

   

   Add the chicken broth (400–500 ml) to the pot. I sometimes use boiling water at this stage — it comes out very tasty too. Once it boils, turn the heat down to medium and cook for 10–15 minutes.

7. Step 7:

   

   Meanwhile, prepare the mushrooms. I used canned shiitake. Wood ear mushrooms or fresh oyster mushrooms are ideal for this recipe. Cut large mushrooms into small pieces, halve the medium ones, and leave the small ones whole.

8. Step 8:

   

   Add the cherry tomatoes and mushrooms to the pot.

9. Step 9:

   

   You'll often find ready-made pastes for Asian soups on supermarket shelves. If you have Tom Kha soup paste, add it at this stage. A ready-made paste usually contains all the necessary seasonings, in which case you don't need to add the sugar and oyster sauce.

10. Step 10:

    

    Pour in the coconut milk and simmer the soup over medium heat for about another 5–7 minutes. Make sure it doesn't bubble too hard, or the coconut milk may curdle. If you didn't use a ready-made soup paste (step 9), add the sugar, fish (or oyster) sauce, freshly squeezed lime juice, and kaffir lime leaves (or finely grated lime zest) to the soup at this stage.

11. Step 11:

    

    Taste the soup. It should be rich, with a sour-creamy-sweet-spicy balance. If something's lacking, add it to taste. Done!