March is here, which means that winter is finally on it’s way out!
The other day I got off the train after work and looked up to notice the last warm fingers of daylight still touching the tops of the buildings in my neighborhood. I can’t tell you how warm and fuzzy that made me feel after walking home in the dark all winter long.
The days are getting longer, the air is getting (ever so slightly) warmer, and while the snow still seems to keep falling, spring will be here in just a few short weeks.
For now though, it’s still winter. If I ever had any doubt, all I’d have to do is look out my bedroom window to see the blanket of white snow perforated in tight tracks by the paws of little pups.
I’m no stranger to long winters. I lived in the Adirondacks for my college years, and grew up in Central New York, the land of lake effect snow and highway clogging blizzards.
Winters in the city have always paled in comparison, being more about rain and slush than actual snow accumulation. When I first moved to Brooklyn I would laugh when people complained about winter weather, but after living through more than a few New York City winters, I realize that freezing rain and grey haze are just as depressing and awful as snow that won’t quit piling up.
This winter has been one of the coldest on record here in Brooklyn, and has felt like one of the longest.
I have to admit, I’m over it.
Officially.
The idea for this recipe came from my desire for something warm and homey and satisfying, like old fashioned chicken noodle soup, mixed with my yearning for bright summery flavors that might draw me out of my cold weather funk.
I thought it was worth a shot to try marrying the idea of chicken noodle soup with the flavors of a Thai Tom Kha Gai coconut soup.
Let me tell you, this soup is amazing. It’s rich and satisfying while somehow also feeling light and healthy.
It’s got a mildly sweet tanginess from the acidic lime juice, a nice bright tropical creaminess from the coconut milk, and just a hint of spice from the fresh ginger and sriracha. The chicken thighs and stock add a nice richness and the carrots give it that traditional chicken soup feeling. The torn cilantro and green onion round out the flavor with green summery freshness, and the al dente rice noodles add a nice bit of texture and substance.
All together every bite is a bright vibrant burst of the tropics in the midst of a dreary grey winter.
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons finely grated ginger
4 carrots, thinly sliced into disks
1 1/2 lbs skinless boneless chicken thighs
sea salt to taste
4 cups chicken stock
1 14 oz can coconut milk
juice of 1 to 4 limes *see note
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons sriracha
1/2 cup sliced scallions
1/2 cup torn cilantro leaves
6 oz package of rice noodles, softened or cooked according to package
Preheat oil over high heat in a large heavy bottom stockpot. Add garlic & ginger and cook, stirring often, for 1 minute. Add carrots and cook for 1 minute more. Add chicken thighs and cook for about 3 or 4 minutes. Add chicken stock & salt bring to simmer. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove chicken thighs with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool for 5 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Skim any foam off of the stock. Slice or shred chicken into bite sized pieces. Add the chicken pieces back to the stock along with coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce, & sriracha. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Bring just back to a simmer, remove from heat, add scallions and cilantro. Ladle into bowls, serve with a generous handful of rice noodles.
*cooks note: I am crazy for citrus so when I developed this recipe I used the juice of 4 limes. I was thrilled with the flavor and posted the recipe the way I liked it.
Over time, a few readers expressed that it was too much for them and they’d prefer it with less lime if they made it again. I’d suggest you that start with the juice of one lime and give it a taste before deciding if you’d enjoy more.
Brooklyn Homemaker 
Hi Tux, I couldn’t believe it when Suzanne (apuginthekitchen.com) told me in was snowing like crazy in Brooklyn yesterday!!! Say Whatttttttttttttttttttttttt? Already it is wearing me out and I am in Florida. For the love of Governor Cuomo it needs to just quit. Bring Spring flowers, warm fresh breezes, birds singing and all of that. I hope the soup warmed you from head to toe!
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Oh I couldn’t believe it either! The day before it had been warm(ish) and raining and all the sidewalks were finally ice free for the first time in weeks- and then boom! 8 inches in 12 hours.
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It is just time for Spring-it has been a brutal winter for the NE! Have a good weekend!
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We had a heck of snow storm yesterday. I’m ready for Spring now!! Hopefully I can try this soup before the weather is too warm. It looks and sounds amazing! I love all the ingredients! Thanks for sharing!
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So did we– after a glorious day of thaw. It was such a bummer!
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Exactly!! Warming trend is coming and we are Springing Forward this weekend!! It’s coming….
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I’m over it too. It’s beautiful, and I get nice photos out of it, but I need some sunshine in my life. This looks like the perfect transitional soup, yum!
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Sounds really tasty. Will try. Nice site you have here by the way. Will stop by more often now that I have found you.
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Oh that soup looks sooo good, I could jump straight in there! :)
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So yellow and yummy looking!
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This is easy and oh, so tasty! A new soup staple in my house. Thank you!
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So great to hear that!!!
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I’m so confused. Why is the soup so yellow?
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Thanks for stopping by and commenting! I was confused by the yellow color myself- but I think it’s because of the sriracha sauce. The little bit of fat from the chicken thighs and coconut oil tends to absorb the orange color from the chili sauce, and then it floats to the top of the soup making it look more yellow than the rest of the broth which is much more pale.
I actually made some braised chicken thighs recently with very similar ingredients but added more sriracha and the sauce looked bright orange when the oil rose to the top!
I hope that helps!
Tux
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Ah, interesting. I usually make this soup vegan for clients, so mine is much whiter in color. And I useThai chilies instead of sriracha. Your explanation makes sense though. Thanks!
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Omg this recipe was a life saver, had to bring something for a pot luck and I had to do soup, I was just going to do chicken noodle and spice it up a bit. But I did this recipe and everyone loved it. now everybody want the recipe
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Yay! That’s so great to hear!
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Do you have to add the fish sauce?
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Good question Nikki! Fish sauce just adds a briny, salty, umami flavor that makes this feel more authentically “Thai”, but if you don’t think you’d like it, or can’t find it, you’re definitely welcome to leave it out.
If you have soy sauce, you might want to substitute about 1 tablespoon of that instead. It won’t have the briny flavor, but will have that salty umami flavor that you’d be missing if you leave out the fish sauce.
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Tried it. Decreased sriracha by 1/4 table spoon and lime juice by 1 lime ( both values given seemed like a LOT. ) Added 1 tablespoon galangal and half cup shitake mushrooms, plus 1 teaspoon chicken boullion for flava-flaves. Nice, still awfully lime-ey. Nice kick with the heat, wouldn’t go any further.
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Thank you so much for your comment and input Susan!
One of my favorite things about soups is how easy they are to customize and fit to your own personal taste! I love the addition of shitakes! Sounds delicious! I would have loved to use galangal but I though most of my readers would have had a hard time finding it so I did ginger instead. I bet yours was phenomenal!
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Just finished making this soup and it was definitely way too Citrusy for me. Tasted more like lime soup than the chicken/coconut flavor I was hoping for. I think if I try it again I would drop it to the juice from 1 lime instead of 4 as the recipe calls for.
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Thanks for your comment Eva!
I’m crazy about citrus so I really like how lime-y this soup is, but totally understand that some people may want to reduce it.
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I made this soup yesterday and loved it. I added onions as my only change and I enjoyed the lime taste! This will now be a staple for me! I have also been making your Chocolate Orange Bundy Cake for a long time. Love it and everyone always raves about it! I have to make this cake for my best friend whenever she visits and I see her 3 times a year!
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Thank you so much for commenting Shalicia! I love this recipe, and that chocolate bundt cake is definitely one of my ultimate favorites. It’s also really versatile. If you take out the orange juice (and zest) you can substitute and equal amount of water, or coffee, for a different flavor.
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Hi I’m from Australia and we have heaps of Thai restaurants here in Melbourne. I have had a lot of soups but in all honesty nothing beats this. I have made this several times for family and friends and it is always a talking point on how good this is.Truly my favourite soup. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe. Although
we are in the middle of summer right now, I am making this for dinner tonight!
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HI Niki! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I’m so happy that you and your family and friends like this soup so much. You comment has truly made my day!
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Found your recipe on Pinterest!!! Even though it’s summer, I wanted something a little different!! We loved it!! Thanks for the recipe!!
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Thanks for the comment Renee! So glad you liked the recipe!
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I love this soup!!! Thank you so much for this! As you saw, I shared it on my blog along with some changes I made for my house. :) Thank you!!
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My daughter was adopted from Thailand so I’m always looking for recipes of flavors from her home country. This is a favorite for the whole family! Thank you for making and sharing!
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Thanks for commenting Angela! I’m glad your family likes the recipe- and what a great story!
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OMG. I love this soup! Eating is I write. With the snow falling in syracuse, this is perfect! I made my own stock and added a stalk of lemongrass to it and shiitake mushroom. Less lime and a lot more sriracha . Thank you!
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Hi Yvonne!
Thank you so much for writing in. I love hearing when people are eating and enjoying these recipes, and the addition of the lemongrass and shiitake sounds phenomenal! Stay warm up there- I know you guys just got a ton of snow.
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This is just OK but if you’re looking for something that’s close to Thai Tom Kha soup this is not it.
I only used 1tbls of fish sauce and that was too much, still could taste fish in the final soup…bla!
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Thanks Mitch. I’d suggest searching for a recipe for Tom Kha soup if you’re looking for a recipe for Tom Kha soup.
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