Tom Yum Soup (Best and Authentic!)
This Tom Yum soup recipe is easily one of the best soups you can make at home! It's spicy, sour, and aromatic, thanks to the combination of lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and chilies. Add shrimp and mushrooms to the mix, and you're in for a hot and comforting bowl of Thai goodness!
Servings: 2 people
Calories: 270kcal
Ingredients
- 3 cups water reduced to 2 1/2 cups
- 12 oz. (350g) head-on and shell on shrimp or tiger prawn head and shells peeled and deveined
- 1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 3-inch (7cm) strips, pounded with a cleaver
- 3 slices galangal
- 6 kaffir lime leaves, bruised
- 6 Thai chilies, pounded bird's eye chilies
- 6 fresh oyster mushrooms, cut into pieces
- 2 tablespoons nam prik pao Thai roasted chili paste
- 2 tablespoons nam prik pao oil
- 3 teaspoons fish sauce
- 3 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
- Cilantro leaves, for garnishing optional
Instructions
- In a pot, bring 3 cups of water to boil. Add the shrimp heads and shells to make shrimp stock. Boil until the water turns slightly orange. Press the shrimp heads with a spatula to extract the juice from the heads. Simmer and let the stock reduce to 2 1/2 cups. Drain the shrimp stock and discard the shrimp heads and shells.
- Turn the heat to high and add the lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, bird’s eye chilies, mushroom, nam prik pao, and nam prik pao oil to the shrimp stock.
- Bring it to a rolling boil before adding in the shrimp and fish sauce. Boil until the shrimp is cooked, then add the lime juice.
- Serve the soup in a bowl and garnish with cilantro leaves (optional).
Video
Notes
- If you do not have shrimp head and shrimp shell, you may use 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock or plain water to make the soup.
- I recommend tiger prawn or fresh water prawn for this recipe.
- I recommend the Pantai brand Nam Prik Pao. For extra flavors, add some of the oil that floats on top in a bottled Nam Prik Pao.
- If you cannot find fresh galangal, do not use ginger or galangal powder. Skip it.
- Some alternatives to oyster mushrooms are straw or white mushrooms.
- Add the lime juice towards the end of cooking to keep its fresh, zesty flavor. Adding the lime juice too early in the cooking process might make the soup bitter.
- Make the soup with chicken, a combination of chicken plus shrimp, or a seafood combination (shrimp, squid, and scallop). The most popular is Tom Yum Goong, which uses shrimp.
- Watch the cooking video for a step-by-step guide.
Nutrition
Serving: 2people | Calories: 270kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 1402mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g