PlateDiary.
Menu
Get PlateDiary
  1. PlateDiary
  2. Calories
  3. Thai & Vietnamese food
  4. Tom kha gai

Calories · Thai & Vietnamese

Calories in tom kha gai

A typical restaurant serving of tom kha gai (one bowl of tom kha gai: chicken, galangal, lemongrass and mushrooms in coconut milk broth, about 400 g) is about 370 calories, usually 250–550.

Restaurant portions vary; this is a typical estimate, not a label. Also called tom kha kai, Thai coconut chicken soup, tom kha.

~370
Tom kha gai

The usual range

Drawn on one 0–2,000 scale shared by every dish page, so plates compare at a glance.

Protein, carbs and fat

  • Protein31 g
  • Carbs6 g
  • Fat24 g

One serving

Serving
one bowl of tom kha gai: chicken, galangal, lemongrass and mushrooms in coconut milk broth
Weight
~400 g
Per 100 g
~92

The dish

About tom kha gai

Tom kha gai is a creamy Thai soup of chicken, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime and mushrooms in coconut milk, sharpened with lime and fish sauce. It is milder and richer than tom yum, with most of its calories in the coconut milk. Numbers from Mahidol University’s Thai food tables for tom kha gai (92 per 100 g), for a 400 g bowl; the bowl size is our estimate.

Ways it comes

One dish, a few numbers

Tom kha gai · rough numbers

  • With a plate of rice~640
  • A small cup (about 250 g)~230

What moves the number

Why one plate is 250 and another 550

  • Coconut milk, the base of the broth
  • Chicken thigh versus breast
  • Rice eaten alongside
  • Bowl size, especially shared pots

Ordering lighter

If you want a lighter plate

  • Ask for a lighter broth with less coconut milk
  • Fill up on the mushrooms and chicken, leave some broth
  • Share a pot with a clear tom yum

Side by side

Next to other Thai & Vietnamese dishes

Thai & Vietnamese · typical restaurant servingAll about Thai & Vietnamese food →

  • Tom yum~160one bowl of clear shrimp tom yum with broth, rice not included · usually 100–350
  • Som tam~210one plate of som tam Thai: pounded green papaya with dried shrimp, peanuts, tomato and palm sugar dressing · usually 60–350
  • Larb~240one plate of larb (about 200 g): minced meat tossed with lime, fish sauce, chilli, herbs and toasted rice powder · usually 180–400
  • Thai milk tea~280one regular cup (400 ml) of Thai milk tea over ice, sweetened with sugar and milk or creamer · usually 150–400
  • Fresh spring rolls~300about three rice-paper rolls with vegetables and meat, dipping sauce not included · usually 200–400
  • Tom kha gai~370one bowl of tom kha gai: chicken, galangal, lemongrass and mushrooms in coconut milk broth · usually 250–550
  • Pho~440one medium bowl with broth · usually 330–650
  • Mango sticky rice~490one plate of sticky rice, sweet coconut sauce and half a mango · usually 380–650
  • Khao pad (Thai fried rice)~500one plate of khao pad: jasmine rice fried with pork, egg, onion and tomato, with lime and cucumber · usually 400–750
  • Boat noodles~530one full-size bowl of pork boat noodles with meatballs and rice noodles in dark spiced broth · usually 380–940
  • Bánh mì~550one mixed-pork bánh mì on an 80 g roll · usually 400–750
  • Moo ping~560three moo ping skewers (about 120 g of pork) with a bag of sticky rice (100 g) · usually 400–750

In PlateDiary

A rough number for the dishes you save — only if you want one.

Off unless you turn them on

Calories in PlateDiary are off unless you turn them on. Switch them on and, when PlateDiary AI reads your photo of the table, each dish gets one rough “~” number. Accept it or change it; a number you correct is remembered for that dish. With Calories off, the app looks exactly as it did before.

A read sends small pictures of the cut-out dishes, with the place's name as a hint — never the table photo, faces or your location. Calorie numbers never go to analytics, and nothing is written to a health app. PlateDiary AI starts with free tries; here is how it works.

Get PlateDiary

How these numbers were made

Method and sources

Last reviewed

Restaurant portions and cooking vary, so these are typical estimates for one serving, built from the sources below. Treat it as a rough number: your plate may land anywhere in the range.

If you manage a health condition, ask a doctor or registered dietitian.

AI helped draft this page; every number was checked against the sources.

  1. Thai Food Composition Database (INMU, Mahidol University) — Soup, coconut milk with galangal, chicken, Tom-kha-gai (food ID 1489); Rice, polished, cooked (food ID 139)

Questions

Questions people ask.

How many calories are in tom kha gai?

A typical restaurant serving of tom kha gai (one bowl of tom kha gai: chicken, galangal, lemongrass and mushrooms in coconut milk broth, about 400 g) is about 370 calories, usually 250–550. The number depends mostly on the portion and how it is cooked.

Is tom kha gai higher than tom yum?

Yes: about 370 a bowl against about 160 for a clear tom yum, because tom kha is built on coconut milk.

How many calories is tom kha gai with rice?

About 640 with a 200 g plate of jasmine rice.

Is tom kha gai healthy?

That depends on more than calories. On calories alone it is a moderate soup, about 370 a bowl, with most of its fat from coconut milk.

What changes the calories in tom kha gai?

Coconut milk, the base of the broth. Chicken thigh versus breast.

How can I order tom kha gai lighter?

Ask for a lighter broth with less coconut milk. Fill up on the mushrooms and chicken, leave some broth.

Can PlateDiary show calories for the dishes I eat out?

Yes, if you want it to: calories in PlateDiary are off unless you turn them on. Switch them on and each dish you save from a photo of the table gets one rough “~” number you can accept or change.