Tom Kha Gai

Where tom yum is fireworks, tom kha is candlelight. It is the bowl we reach for when we want the warmth of Thailand without the burn — coconut milk rounding the sour and the heat into something soft, fragrant and quietly consoling.

In the kitchen

The trick is patience with the cream. We never let the coconut milk reach a rolling boil — a hard bubble would split it — so it stays satin to the last spoonful. Galangal, lemongrass and lime leaf steep gently to give the broth its perfume, mushrooms add an earthy depth, and poached chicken goes in to drink it all up. A measured squeeze of lime and a single chilli keep it from ever turning dull or sweet.

At the table

It comes to you pale gold and glossy, smelling of coconut and citrus. The texture is what surprises people first — silky, almost creamy — and then the galangal arrives, piney and warm, with just a glow of chilli underneath. It is comfort in a bowl, the one we’d hand a first-timer or anyone who wants to ease into the heat.

Spoon it over rice or sip it straight — both are entirely correct.