Tom Kha Gai

This is the classic Thai chicken coconut soup called Tom Kha Gai. It's quick, easy and packed with intense quintessential Thai flavors, which it gets from coconut milk, lemongrass, fresh ginger, lime juice, chile paste, Thai fish sauce, cilantro, and kaffir lime leaves and other goodies. Amazing complex Thai flavors.

2 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 large can unsweetened coconut milk (I use the light version)
2 cups canned chicken broth
2 tablespoons finely chopped lemongrass
1tbsp Thai fish sauce (nam pla)

2 keffir lime leaves**

1 tbsp palm sugar**
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1/3 of a red serrano chili, sliced into rounds*
1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce* (or srirachi and minced garlic)

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2 skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
pre-soaked rice noodles
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 tablespoons fresh lime juice
cilantro leaves

grated unsweetened coconut

*adjust chili ingredients to your heat tolerance

*find palm sugar and keffir lime leaves on Amazon.

In a saucepan, sauté mushrooms until very lightly browned, then combine all ingredients in pan except for the last 6. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and cover and simmer 10 minutes to let the flavors blend. Then add chicken and rice noodles, and simmer for 5 more minutes until cooked through. Mix in green onions and lime juice. After ladling soup into bowl, top with cilantro leaves and grated coconut, and prepare your taste buds for a treat!