Vegan Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Soup)
Jan 17, 2019
The vegan version of the popular Thai Soup! This Vegan Tom Kha Gai is packed with veggies and has tons of flavors - sweet, tart & spicy! So comforting!
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Vegan Tom Kha Gai aka Thai Coconut Soup is creamy, delicious and has so much flavor to it. You only need the right ingredients to make this at home in no time!
January is a hard month to get through. There are many reasons for this. One, it’s the first month after the holidays and it’s hard to get back to work and daily life.
And two it’s so dark and cold that basically you just can’t wait for spring! Oh well, what gets me through these days is hot soups! I love having soups for dinner, Sarvesh not so much.
He is not a soup person, so I usually make soups for myself. One of my favorite soups these days is this Thai Coconut Soup, also known as Tom Kha.
This soup is very lightly seasoned and most of the flavors for this Vegan Tom Kha Gai comes from using fresh ingredients used in Thai cooking.
Now, I know a lot of ingredients in the list like galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves are not something that you would find in any grocery store. But trust me, these ingredients make all the difference!
If you love Thai food and want to make it at home, I suggest you find a good Asian store near you. Luckily, I have a lot of Asian stores in my area so it’s not difficult to find these ingredients at all.
What is Tom Kha
Tom Kha or Tom Kha Gai is a coconut milk based thai soup. It’s a mix of tart, sweet and spicy flavors. Traditionally and the most common version involves chicken but since I am a vegetarian, I always opt for the vegetarian version of the soup.
The vegetarian or vegan tom kha gai has lots of veggies tossed in a creamy coconut soup. It’s super flavorful and very comforting!
It’s one of the most popular Thai soups or for that matter one of the most popular Thai dish. The base of the soup is made with creamy coconut milk and ingredients like galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves help bring out it’s unique flavor.
Substitutes for Galangal & Kaffir Lime Leaves
In my opinion, these ingredients are key to making a good Tom Kha and can’t be substituted.
However, if you still really want to make Tom Kha and can’t find these ingredients, substitute galangal with ginger and use more lime juice (in addition to what’s already used in the recipe) in place of the lime leaves.
Vegan Tom Kha Gai Recipe
To make this vegan tom kha gai soup is really easy. It’s a 15 to 20 minute process and you end up with a simmering pot of delicious soup.
We simmer the broth until it absorbs all the flavors of the lemongrass and galangal and then add the veggies and simmer some more until they are cooked. It’s pretty simple.
I make the soup completely and then discard the lemon grass and galangal before serving (they are hard and need to be removed). You can also do this the other way.
Make the broth first, strain it and then add the veggies and simmer until they are cooked. Either way, it would turn out great.
This soup has a interesting mix of flavors. It has that sweet creamy flavor from coconut milk and sugar (if using). Then it has the heat from the thai chilies and tartness from the kaffir lime leaves and lime juice.
All these flavors should be well balanced, that’s what makes this soup so special.
A lot of recipes calls for exclusively using coconut milk for Tom Kha. I have used coconut milk (of course) but I have also used a lot of vegetable broth. I personally don’t like a super intense coconut flavor so this works for me.
If you want the soup to be creamier and also enjoy coconut flavor, skip the broth and use only coconut milk in the recipe.
Method
1- Place a heavy bottom pan on medium heat and then add vegetable broth, coconut milk, cut lemongrass and slices of galangal to it.
Let it come to a slow simmer, you do not want to boil the milk here. Let it heat through for 5 minutes.
2- Then add in the veggies-carrots, mushroom, pepper and stir.
3- Also add the kaffir lime leaves. Remember to tear/crush them before adding to the soup. That’s what brings out their flavor.
4- Add thai chilies as well. If you like spicy food, add more of the chilies. I like mine to be on the milder side.
5- Let the veggies simmer for around 6 to 7 minutes, then add the salt.
6- Also add the sugar (if using, I recommend it) and mix. Turn heat to low and simmer for 3 more minutes and then remove pot from heat.
7- Stir in the chopped cilantro and mix.
8- Finally add in lime juice. Taste test and adjust spice level and salt to taste at this point.
Discard lemongrass, galangal and serve vegan tom kha with more cilantro and a lime wedge.
If you’ve tried this Vegan Tom Kha Gai Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
Vegan Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Soup)
Ingredients
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 can coconut milk full fat, 400 ml or 1 3/4 cups
- 2 stalks lemongrass diagonally sliced, tough outer covering removed
- 8 slices galangal 26 grams
- 2 large carrots chopped
- 4-5 white mushrooms sliced
- 1/2 red pepper sliced
- 6-7 kaffir lime leaves tear into pieces before adding
- 2 thai chilies or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar optional
- 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
- 2 tablespoons lime juice or to taste
Instructions
- Place a heavy bottom pan on medium heat and then add vegetable broth, coconut milk, cut lemongrass and slices of galangal to it.Let it come to a slow simmer, you do not want to boil the milk here. Let it heat through for 5 minutes.
- Then add in the veggies-carrots, mushroom, pepper and stir.
- Also add the kaffir lime leaves. Remember to tear/crush them before adding to the soup. That's what brings out their flavor.
- Add thai chilies as well. If you like spicy food, add more of the chilies. I like mine to be on the milder side.
- Let the veggies simmer for around 6 to 7 minutes, then add the salt.
- Also add the sugar (if using, I recommend it) and mix. Turn heat to low and simmer for 3 more minutes and then remove pot from heat.
- Stir in the chopped cilantro and mix.
- Finally add in lime juice. Taste test and adjust spice level and salt to taste at this point.
- Discard lemongrass, galangal and serve vegan tom kha with more cilantro and a lime wedge.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I see someone used Ginger instead of Galangal. I have lemongrass, but can’t find kaffir leaves either. What are good substitutes if we can’t find any of them at some point. TY
for authentic taste, there’s no substitute. But if that’s fine with you, use ginger in place of galangal and lime zest in place of kaffir lime leaves
I used ginger too! Instead of lemongrass i use lemon zest, although i have never had lemongrass and so i am unsure if it makes a huge difference i do know that with these substitutes it still make my coconut soup taste super good. I eat it every week now its one of my favorites. I do not use kaffir leaves at all either! Still tasts good. Instead of thai chillies i use green chillies which gives spice. u dont need all these ingredients just see what they do and find subsitutes for them obviously with some things u cant replace them.
This is the best Tom Kha recipe I’ve found–and it’s AMAZING! I added some broccoli and zucchini and tofu and it was a delicious, filling meal. I’ll be making this again and again!
thanks for the lovely feedback Susan!
Wow-this was delicious! The whole family loved it and asked me to add it to our regular rotation recipe list. So flavorful. I made it with (vegan) chicken broth because the vegetable broth is very tomato-y and didn’t think it would meld. Thank you!
glad to hear Michelle!
This looks like a wonderful recipe, Manali! One linguistic note. “Gai” means “chicken” in Thai, so since you’re using exclusively vegetables here, this is “Tom Kha Phak”. Otherwise, this reminds me of the tom kha I had a lot in Bangkok. My mouth is watering. 😋
Thanks Colleen! Yes I know “gai” means chicken but that’s how people search when they are looking for a vegan version of this soup so I had to use the word for that purpose 🙂
Could I freeze this? Considering making this recipe for my next prep day, I like to stock up the freezer since I have very little fridge space. Thanks!
you can try, I have never tried freezing it
My husband loves Tom kha and we have the necessary ingredients at home to make this!!! What kind of broth do you use? I like to make mine at home with leftover veggie ends but will need the right spices infused. Thank you!
Pacific brand is my favorite
So delicious! The New Seasons by my house had the galangal, lime leaf and lemon grass, one stop shop! It was so good I ordered the instapot indian cook book because I want more of these delicious recipes!
I have a couple questions about this one, as a novice with lemongrass I was not sure about how much of the exterior should be taken off and exactly how to prepare that portion correctly. I know how to slice diagonally, I’m just having a hard time gauging how much is too much taken off the stalk, and when I tried to look it up it seems like others are preparing it for a different purpose. If there is a helpful video you really like on this I would love to be pointed in the right direction!
My second question is how do you get said lemongrass and the galangal out of the soup at the end without having to sift through all the veggies individually? I’m trying to avoid any surprise bites and also the ‘where’s waldo’ right before serving.
Can’t wait to perfect this recipe and dig in on the new ones in the book! Thank you so much!
for you second question- do the other way, Make the broth first, strain it and then add the veggies and simmer until they are cooked. Either way, it would turn out great.
first question- I found a video, hope this helps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXuHP__6StA
Thank you so much! The best tom kha I have ever had is from a Thai restaurant in Hilo, Hawaii and your recipe is the closest one I have found so I can make it at home. I have several friends who are vegan and I’m so happy to have this recipe that I can share with them also. This was absolutely delicious!
awesome! 🙂
This recipe was better than almost all the Tom Kha soups I’ve had at Thai restaurants – so delicious! This will going into the regular meal rotation at my house. 🙂
Forgot to give it all the stars 😉
Seriously this is an amazing recipe for a delicate, beautiful soup.
Made this twice. First time used ginger because we had no galangal. AMAZING! Both times!!
THANK YOU FOR MAKING OUR DINNERS EVEN MORE AWESOME!! Super simple recipe that is easy, fragrant, and delicious.
This is amazing! The closest I’ve gotten to the one from my local takeout. Finally managed to find galangal in Amsterdam, so I now have it in the freezer, to make this soup all winter
so glad to know!
Thank you Manali, we liked this recipe! I didn’t have galangal or kaffir lime leaves so I used ginger, more lime juice, and Thai basil leaves. Next time I am going to load up even more vegetables into the recipe. I want to next try your khao suey recipe ?
Made this for myself last night and it came out perfect. And super easy! I used a broth of dried shitake, and some extra chilis.
Exactly what I was hoping for. This will be one of my new regulars for sure. Thanks for the great vegan recipes Manali!
Wow wow wow. I had no idea tom kha was so simple! I honestly thought for sure that following this recipe would not make an authentic tasting tom kha but it does. It’s so good! I did add more sugar and salt than was recommended. I found more sweetness really brought it all together. Make this right now! Thanks for the recipe Manali you rock!
awesome! Thanks for the feedback!
The soup was delicious!
How do you remove the chopped pieces of lemon grass and galangal at the end?
Would you get their flavour if left in large chunks, easily removable?
just strain the soup and remove the lemon grass and galangal. Yes it doesn’t need to very fine, somewhat bigger pieces will give the flavor too.
How to make veg stock for this soup
I have used store bought. If you want you can boil veggie scraps in water, strain and then use in the recipe as veg stock
Absolutely gorgeous! Sainsbury’s do a Thai kit with Chilli’s, Lemongrass, Galangal, Ginger and Coriander (Cilantro.) I added a couple of extra Chilli’s as I love the contrast of spice and creaminess. I make this Soup once or twice a week as myself and my other half love kit so much! I’m Vegan so often add Tofu. Thanks so much for this lovely recipe.
I made it following your recipe and it turned out great. Thank you.
Welcome! glad you enjoyed it
You need to leave the Gai off the name. That word means chicken. Recipe worked out well.
This coconut soup looking damn delicious! and the images you put in this blog looking pretty nice. thank you for sharing a good blog Manali! 🙂
Welcome!
Agree! 🙂