🇹🇭 Thai
Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Chicken Soup)
⏱ 35 min
🍞
🍽 6-8 (family pot — *tom kha* is meant to be a big simmering pot) servings
⭐ 4/5
⚠️ Estimates only — not medical advice. Carb counts vary by brand and portion. Always verify with your endo or CDCES.
🌍 Cultural note
*Tom kha gai* is one of the most calming dishes in Thai cuisine — creamy coconut milk, lemongrass, *kha* (galangal), lime. It's what Thai moms make when someone in the family isn't feeling well. The *kha* (a cousin of ginger) is the secret — peppery and almost pine-like, totally different from ginger. This soup smells like a hug. Thai families simmer a big pot and ladle it for everyone over rice or on its own. Below, the kid carb math is broken out.
🍽️ Kid's plate — the carb math
From this pot, build your child's bowl:
| Kid portion | Carbs |
|---|---|
| 1 cup soup, just the soup | ~9g |
| 1 cup soup + ¼ cup jasmine rice | ~20g |
| 1 cup soup + ⅓ cup jasmine rice | ~24g |
| 1 cup soup + ½ cup cauli rice stirred in | ~11g |
| 1 cup soup + ¼ cup jasmine + ¼ cup cauli (sweet spot) | ~16g |
Adults take their full bowl (1½ cups soup + ½ cup rice). This is the tom kha family lunch.
Why this recipe is T1D-friendly
- Naturally low-carb soup — coconut milk + chicken + aromatics, no rice base needed
- Coconut fat is satisfying and slow-burning
- Easy to portion-control; works as a starter OR a meal with a few add-ons
- Freezes well in single-serve mason jars
Ingredients
- 1½ lb boneless chicken thighs, sliced thin
- 2 cans (13.5 oz each) full-fat coconut milk
- 4 cups chicken broth (low-sodium)
- 2 stalks lemongrass, smashed and cut in 2-inch pieces
- 4-inch piece fresh kha (galangal), sliced — or sub fresh ginger
- 6 bai makrut (kaffir lime leaves), torn — or zest of 1 lime
- 12 oz mushrooms (shiitake or button), sliced
- 3 tbsp nam pla (fish sauce)
- 1½ tbsp allulose
- Juice of 1½ limes
- ⅓ cup cilantro, chopped
- 3 green onions, sliced
- Optional: 1 small Thai chili, smashed (kid bowls: omit)
- Jasmine rice cooked separately (optional, for those who want it)
Directions
- In a large pot, combine chicken broth, lemongrass, kha slices, and bai makrut.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Let aromatics infuse for 6-8 minutes.
- Pour in coconut milk (both cans). Stir to combine.
- Add sliced chicken. Simmer gently for 8 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
- Add mushrooms. Simmer another 4 minutes until tender.
- Stir in nam pla and allulose. Taste — adjust salt with more nam pla.
- Turn off heat. Stir in lime juice (always off heat — it gets bitter if boiled).
- For adult bowls: add the smashed Thai chili at the table.
- Ladle into bowls. Top with cilantro and green onion. Add a measured rice scoop underneath for the kid's bowl.
- Fish out the lemongrass and kha pieces before serving to kids (they're for flavor, not eating).
Dash's kid tips 🐆
- Freeze single-serve portions of the soup in mason jars. Tom kha freezes brilliantly — pull a jar out for a sick-day lunch, a snowy weeknight, or a low-energy mom-day. Cook rice fresh if your kid wants some on the side.
- This is the Thai recipe that converts the spice-averse kid — there's literally no heat unless you add chili
- The aromatics (lemongrass, kha, bai makrut) need to be fished out before serving — kids don't love biting woody stems
- Let kids squeeze their own lime wedge in — it's interactive and they own the flavor