Slow Cooker Tom Kha Soup is absolutely perfect. This traditional Thai soup features a coconut milk-based broth that is infused with flavorful roots, herbs, and spicy chilies. This recipe will get you pretty darn close to what you might enjoy in a restaurant.
Light, yet filling and full of tangy flavor, it’s the best tom kha gai recipe I’ve ever made or tried and is so creamy, easy, and delicious.
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
8 hours
Total Time
8 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
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half of one onion sliced
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2 cloves garlic chopped
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half of one red jalapeño pepper sliced; or a couple Thai chiles, halved
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3 quarter-inch-long slices galangal or ginger
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1 lemongrass stalk pounded with the side of a knife, cut into 2-inch-long pieces
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10 lime leaves torn, optional
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1 tablespoon red Thai curry paste
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4 cups chicken broth see Notes
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2 13.5-ounce cans full-fat coconut milk or coconut cream
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2 small chicken breasts approximately 1 pound, cut into bite-sized pieces; see Notes for alternatives
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8 ounces white mushroom caps sliced
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2-3 tablespoons brown sugar or coconut sugar, see Notes
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2-3 tablespoons fish sauce plus more to taste
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2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
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2-3 green onions thinly sliced
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chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
Notes
- Shrimp Variation: Use 1 pound of raw shrimp instead of the chicken. Cook until shrimp is pink, slightly curled, and no longer translucent.
- Make it Vegan/Vegetarian: Use vegetable broth or a vegan chicken broth. Sub chicken with a 1-pound block of firm or extra firm (can be regular or silken) tofu cut into cubes. Use soy sauce to taste instead of fish sauce, or use a vegan fish sauce.
- Make it Whole30: Use compliant chicken broth. Replace brown or coconut sugar with 2 tablespoons coconut aminos and use a compliant fish sauce without sugar (the only one I know of is Red Boat Fish Sauce).
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