Tom kha gai (dtôm-khàa-gài)
ต้มข่าไก่
dtôm-khàa-gài
The name, part by part — it reads straight through
| Part | Sound | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| ต้ม | dtôm | boiled or simmered — as the first word of a name it means a soup, and the liquid comes with it |
| ข่า | khàa | galangal |
| ไก่ | gài | chicken |
Boiled, galangal, chicken — the soup frame with its dominant flavouring in the middle and the protein in the last slot. Swap the last word and you have a different order off the same board.
The one thing this name does not say is the coconut milk, which is what separates the bowl from ต้มยำกุ้ง. That is a fact about this name and not a rule about Thai ones: ต้มกะทิ puts กะทิ in the title outright. ข่า is galangal, not ginger, and it is worth learning as a seasoning word in its own right because it turns up in curry pastes you will want to ask about. Compare the pair directly: same ต้ม frame, different middle word, different protein.
How Thai dish names are built, in full: Thai food, dish by dish.
Tom yum's gentle sibling: chicken and mushrooms in a coconut-milk broth heavy with galangal (ข่า, khàa, the dish is named after it), soured with lime. The soup to order the day your stomach wants peace.
Spice mild Gentle by design: coconut milk rounds off the chilli.
What is in it Chicken, coconut milk, plenty of galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, mushrooms, lime juice, fish sauce, a few chillies bruised for aroma more than heat.
Vegetarian and allergies Closest mainstream soup to vegetarian-adaptable: เห็ด (hèt, all-mushroom) versions are common; fish sauce remains the catch.
Say it at every level
A1.1 Order it
ต้มข่าไก่ครับ (dtôm-khàa-gài khráp), and rice: ข้าวเปล่าครับ.
A2 Make it yours
Same etiquette as tom yum: the galangal slices flavour, you do not chew them. Creamier: กะทิเยอะหน่อย. Ask the difference like a beginner who reads: ต้มข่ากับต้มยำต่างกันยังไง (how do tom kha and tom yum differ?).
B1 Talk about it
The tasting vocabulary blooms here: หอมข่า (hǎwm khàa, fragrant with galangal), กลมกล่อม (glom-glàwm, rounded, balanced, the highest compliment for coconut dishes).
C1 to native Own it
กลมกล่อม is the word to master: it describes flavour with no single element sticking out, and Thais use it for people too, a personality that is กลมกล่อม is easy company. Food words doing people work is where native-level Thai lives.
Hungry for the words too? Ordering food phrases