Tom Yum Soup Recipe
This Tom Yum Soup recipe is a popular Thai hot and sour soup loaded with herbs and spices and lots of shrimp simmered in a flavorful broth.
Servings: 4
Calories: 193kcal
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken stock or use shrimp stock
- 4 Thai chili peppers or use any spicy pepper available to you - see recipe notes
- 4 tablespoons fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons Thai chili paste nam prik pao
- 1 tablespoon chili oil
- 3 lemongrass stalks chopped and smashed
- 3 kaffir lime leaves
- 2 garlic cloves smashed
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped galangal
- 15 ounces straw mushrooms I used canned, drained, but you can use fresh
- 12 medium shrimp peeled and deveined
- Juice from 1 small lime
- For Garnish/Finish: Chopped fresh cilantro fish sauce, chili oil, chili flakes
Instructions
- Add the chicken stock (or shrimp stock) to a large pot along with the peppers, fish sauce, chili paste, chili oil, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, garlic and galangal. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. You can simmer longer if you'd like to develop more flavor. Strain, if desired.
- Add the mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add the shrimp and lime juice. Simmer for 2 minutes, or until the shrimp is cooked through.
- Serve into bowls and top with chopped fresh cilantro, a drizzle of fish sauce and chili oil, and chili flakes (if desired).
Notes
The Chili Peppers. Use Thai peppers for this recipe if you can, though will achieve excellent results with other chili peppers. Go with heat levels of your choice, like spicy jalapeno, fiery serrano peppers or cayenne, or even extra hot peppers like habaneros, 7 pot peppers or ghost peppers for some real heat.
The Stock. You can make this recipe more quickly with store bought stocks, like chicken stock, shrimp stock or seafood stock and vegetable broth or stock. I often make my own stocks and freeze them for later use. You'll definitely get more flavor from a homemade stock.
Make Your Own Shrimp Stock. If you'd like to make your own shrimp stock for this recipe, start with shell on shrimp, preferably with the shrimp heads. Peel the shrimp, then add the shells and the shrimp heads to a pot with 4 cups of water. Add in lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, smashed ginger or galangal and garlic, shallot and Thai chilies. Bring to a boil then simmer at least 10 minutes to let the flavors develop. 1 hour or longer is better. Strain, then use to make your Tom Yum Soup! So delicious. The soup is more authentic this way.
Other Ingredients. You can use other flavors to your preference. I have seen this recipe made with soy sauce, bay leaves, cherry tomatoes to finish, sugar or brown sugar, honey and more.
Creamy Version. You can make more of a creamy version of Tom Yum Soup, called Tom Yum Nam Khon, by adding evaporated milk or coconut milk to the soup base.
Nutrition
Calories: 193kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 2307mg | Potassium: 483mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 69IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 3mg