This is a traditional Thai soup. To make it properly, you need to layer the flavors, rather than throwing everything into the pot at one time.
I have heard from a few people that some of the ingredients are somewhat hard to find. If you have a local Asian market, they often keep the galangal and kaffir lime leaves in the freezer section. Both freeze very well. Use what you need of the lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves and freeze the rest.
If your interested in having some authentic Thai grilled chicken to eat along with your soup click here Authentic Thai Street Food: Marinated Grilled Chicken
Interested in some other Thai dishes?
Gai Tung – Thai Braised Chicken with Aromatic Spices
Thai Ginger Chicken- Gai Pad King
Gai Larb- The Classic Thai Chicken Salad
Thai Chicken with Basil/ Gai Pad Prik Grapao- Top Thai Dish
Thai Shrimp and Basil- Stir Fry, Phuket Style
Gai Pad Prik – Thai Chicken with Chilies
Nam Pla Prik-Authentic Thai Dipping Sauce
Authentic Thai Omelet-Kai Jeow Street Food Recipe
And od course,My Favorite Recipes
Ingredients:
6 cups low sodium Vegetable Broth
1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1/2 – 3/4 lb Shrimp, shelled and deveined with shells, heads and tails retained.
3 pieces of sliced Galangal, softened with back of your knife.
2 stalks Lemon Grass, peeled and tough ends cut off and softened with back of your knife.
3 cloves Garlic, peeled and mashed.
3-5 fresh Thai Chilies, sliced in half.
8 Kaffir Lime leaves
1 Tbsp Chili Paste with Soya Bean Oil, see picture and note below.
1 cup Fresh Oyster Mushrooms, chopped into bite size pieces.
2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
3-4 fresh Limes, juiced
Fresh Cilantro for garnish.
Preparation:
Begin by heating up your oil in a medium to large stock pot. Then add in your galangal, garlic, chilies and lemon grass and retained shrimp shells and sauté them briefly until the aroma starts to release.
Add in your vegetable broth and kaffir lime leaves bring it up to a soft simmer. Allow this to gently simmer for about 20 minutes.
Then strain the broth and return to your pan. Add your chili paste and oyster mushrooms. Simmer for 3-4 minutes and then add your fish sauce and shrimp. Cook just until the shrimp turn pink. This will take only a minute or so.
Add your lime juice, adjust to taste, top with fresh cilantro and remove from the heat and serve.
Note: Sugar is often added to Tom Yum Koong, but I found the chili paste I used was quite sweet, so I omitted any additional sugar. If you can find Thai Nam Prik Pao (Roasted Chili Paste) then you might need the sugar. If so, 1 tsp would be suffcient.
This article is part of The Pasadena Chef Cooking School. Explore more cooking lessons, techniques, and ingredient guides here. The Pasadena Chef Cooking School
Authentic Thai Tom Yum Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Begin by heating up your oil in a medium to large stock pot. Then add in your galangal, garlic, chilies and lemon grass and retained shrimp shells and sauté them briefly until the aroma starts to release.Add in your vegetable broth and kaffir lime leaves bring it up to a soft simmer. Allow this to gently simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Then strain the broth and return to your pan. Add your chili paste and oyster mushrooms. Simmer for 3-4 minutes and then add your fish sauce and shrimp. Cook just until the shrimp turn pink. This will take only a minute or so.
- Add your lime juice, adjust to taste, top with fresh cilantro and remove from the heat and serve.