Name: Tom Yum
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 14 oz shrimp (400 g); 3.5 oz oyster mushrooms (100 g); 3.5 oz enoki mushrooms (100 g, optional); 4 ¼ cups shrimp stock (1 liter); 2 stalks lemongrass; ¾ inch galangal (2 cm); 5 pieces kaffir lime leaves; 2 sprigs cilantro; 2 pieces cilantro roots; ½ tomato; chili peppers (to taste); 3 tbsp lime juice; 3 tbsp fish sauce; salt

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It’s incredible how flavorful Thai tom yum soup is. And what may be even more interesting is that it’s actually very simple to make, literally coming together in just a few minutes.

Actually, there are two challenges if you want to make tom yum at home:

Outside Thailand, or even certain parts of Asia, getting the ingredients really isn’t easy.
If you include making the shrimp stock, the process gets a little longer and a bit more involved. Although while the stock is simmering, you can prep the rest of the ingredients.

But no matter how much of a challenge it is, this soup is a real flavor bomb, and it’s more than worth the effort. Let’s see how you can make it at home too.

Special Ingredients for Tom Yum

What counts as a special ingredient is also a bit of a geographical question. But we can agree that, outside certain parts of Asia, getting the following won’t be easy. It’s also true that without them, your tom yum won’t just be inauthentic, it won’t even be truly delicious:

Lemongrass
Galangal
Kaffir lime leaves
Cilantro root (you can still get by without this one)

You’ll be able to get these almost exclusively from stores that sell Asian ingredients, but it’s worth looking around online too. I was able to find galangal, lemongrass, and cilantro root fresh in a store like that, but even there the kaffir lime leaves were only available frozen – though of course that works perfectly too.

Finding larger fresh shrimp suitable for tom yum soup can also be difficult. I’m writing this mostly because this soup just won’t be the real thing with cooked, tiny shrimp. The ones I used weighed exactly 13.2 oz (375 g), 12 pieces total. So that was about 3 shrimp per 3.5 oz (100 g). Try to get shrimp of this larger size, and not cooked ones. If you can’t find fresh shrimp, which is generally only available near the sea, you may still be able to find flash-frozen ones at a specialty store or fish market.

The Two Versions of Tom Yum

The original Thai tom yum soup (tom yum goong) comes in two versions. One of them (the recipe you see here) is the clear tom yum, where the broth stays clear, basically like a meat broth.

The other version is creamy tom yum goong, which usually contains condensed milk and additional chili paste. If you happen to come across a coconut milk version of tom yum somewhere in the Western world, that is not an original recipe.

Prepping the Ingredients

Cooking tom yum literally takes just a few minutes, so what really takes time is prepping the ingredients. Here’s how to handle them:

Wash the shrimp, remove their shells and heads, and leave the tails on. Carefully cut into their backs with a sharp knife, remove the black vein, and discard it.
Lightly bruise the galangal with the flat side of a knife, and cut it into slices about 1/8 inch (1/3 cm) thick. For 4 1/4 cups (1 liter) of water, use about 5-6 slices of galangal.
Bruise the lemongrass with the flat side of a larger knife as well, and cut it diagonally into 3/4- to 1 1/4-inch (2-3 cm) pieces.
Lightly bruise the cilantro root with the flat side of a knife too.
Tear the oyster mushrooms into pieces, cut off the stem (it won’t cook through that quickly and would stay tough in the soup), and tear the larger pieces in half.
If you’re using enoki mushrooms, cut off the solid base and separate them.
Tear the kaffir lime leaves into 4 pieces. Since the leaf already has its two halves stacked over each other, remove and discard the center rib as well, and it will fall into 2 pieces on each side.
Cut the half tomato into 6-8 smaller pieces.
Crush the fresh chili peppers in a mortar until they break up, but are still partly intact. Use chili to taste. The original version of course uses a lot, but you can also add it individually to each bowl, so everyone can make it as spicy as they like.
Cut the lime in half and squeeze out the juice. Optionally, you can also give everyone lime wedges, so the soup can be seasoned individually too.

What Parts Don’t We Eat?

I’m only writing this part down because for anyone not used to these original Thai recipes, something like the brutally tough lemongrass in the soup may seem strange at first.

So we don’t eat the lemongrass, the galangal, or the kaffir lime leaves in tom yum soup. You really wouldn’t be able to anyway, because they’re tough or their flavor is too strong on their own. But even so, it’s customary to serve them in the soup, so feel free to leave them in.

Don’t Overcook the Shrimp!

One of the biggest mistakes people tend to make when they don’t have experience cooking seafood is overcooking it. This is especially true for shrimp, which only needs a very short cooking time. In practice, that literally means just a few minutes. Once it starts curling up, it’s overcooked and the flesh will turn tough.

There are two ways you can watch out for this when making tom yum, and it’s worth keeping both in mind.

First, only add the cleaned shrimp to the soup at the very end (see the recipe), bring everything to a boil once, and the very moment that happens, take it off the heat. Believe me, the shrimp will cook through in that time.

Second, eat this soup fresh. Reheating is not recommended, because the shrimp will overcook during reheating.

Shrimp Stock or Something Else Instead

Tom yum won’t just be truly delicious because of the shrimp stock, but if you use fresh shrimp, then this is also the most natural way to use that ingredient. In practice, you cook the flavor out of the shrimp shells and use it naturally in the soup as well.

Making shrimp stock is extremely simple. Put the removed shrimp shells and the rinsed heads into cold water. For 4 1/4 cups (1 liter) of stock, use 5 1/4 cups (1.25 liters) of water. Let it simmer very gently for 20 minutes, skimming off the foam from time to time. Strain it, discard the shrimp shells, and the stock is ready.

If you don’t feel like making it, don’t have time for it, or can’t get raw shrimp, then on the one hand you can also cook the soup with water. It won’t be as flavorful, but it won’t be bad either. And believe me, they make it that way in Thailand too. On the other hand, you can use some kind of bouillon cube or powder instead (this is also completely accepted in Asia), but in that case, use a fish-based one if possible.

Tom Yum

Incredibly flavorful, authentic Thai tom yum soup

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Total Time 30

Course Soup

Cuisine Thai

Servings

Ingredients

14 oz shrimp 400 g
3.5 oz oyster mushrooms 100 g
3.5 oz enoki mushrooms 100 g, optional
4 ¼ cups shrimp stock 1 liter
2 stalks lemongrass
¾ inch galangal 2 cm
5 pieces kaffir lime leaves
2 sprigs cilantro
2 pieces cilantro roots
½ tomato
chili peppers to taste
3 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp fish sauce
salt

Instructions

First, prep the ingredients:
Wash the shrimp and remove their shells and heads. Leave the tails on. Carefully cut into their backs with a sharp knife and remove the black vein.
Lightly bruise the galangal with the flat side of a knife, and cut it into slices about 1/8 inch (1/3 cm) thick. For 4 1/4 cups (1 liter) of water, use about 5-6 slices of galangal.
Bruise the lemongrass with the flat side of a larger knife as well, and cut it diagonally into 3/4- to 1 1/4-inch (2-3 cm) pieces.
Lightly bruise the cilantro root with the flat side of a knife too.
Tear the oyster mushrooms into pieces, cut off the stem (it won’t cook through that quickly and would stay tough in the soup), and tear the larger pieces in half.
If you’re using enoki mushrooms, cut off the solid base and separate them.Tear the kaffir lime leaves into 4 pieces. Since the leaf already has its two halves stacked over each other, remove the center rib too, and it will fall into 2 pieces on each side.
Cut the half tomato into 6-8 smaller pieces.
Crush the fresh chili peppers in a mortar until they break up, but are still partly intact.
Cut the lime in half and squeeze out the juice.
Bring the stock to a boil in a medium saucepan.
Add the galangal, lemongrass, and cilantro root, and cook until the broth turns slightly greenish, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, skim off the foam.
If you’re making it with shrimp stock, it will almost certainly foam even if you already skimmed it while making the stock. But that’s not a problem, just remove it with a spoon or strainer.
Add the oyster mushrooms and the salt. Cook for about 2 minutes (the mushrooms need to soften).
Add the shrimp, the tomato, and the kaffir lime leaves. If you’re using enoki mushrooms too, add those as well.Bring it to a boil once, and turn off the heat immediately.
After taking it off the heat, add the lime juice and the fish sauce. It’s best if everyone adds the chili to their own bowl. Serve with cilantro leaves and, optionally, lime wedges.