Tom Yum Soup (Printable version)

Vibrant Thai soup with lemongrass, lime, chiles, and fresh herbs in a perfectly balanced sour, spicy, and savory broth.

# What You'll Need:

→ Broth Base

01 - 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
02 - 2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and smashed
03 - 4 kaffir lime leaves, torn
04 - 3 slices galangal or ginger
05 - 2 Thai birds eye chiles, sliced

→ Vegetables & Aromatics

06 - 7 ounces mushrooms, sliced
07 - 2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
08 - 1 small onion, sliced
09 - 3 cloves garlic, smashed

→ Protein

10 - 10 ounces shrimp, peeled and deveined or tofu

→ Seasonings & Finish

11 - 3 tablespoons fish sauce or soy sauce
12 - 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
13 - 1 teaspoon sugar
14 - 1 teaspoon chili paste optional
15 - Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
16 - 2 green onions, sliced
17 - Lime wedges for serving

# Directions:

01 - Bring stock to a gentle boil in a medium pot. Add lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, chiles, garlic, and onion. Simmer for 10 minutes to develop aromatic flavors.
02 - Add sliced mushrooms and tomato wedges to the broth. Cook for 5 minutes until mushrooms become tender.
03 - Add shrimp or tofu and simmer just until shrimp turn pink and are cooked through, approximately 2 to 3 minutes.
04 - Stir in fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and chili paste if using. Taste and adjust seasoning for salt, sourness, and heat as desired.
05 - Remove from heat. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro and green onions. Serve with lime wedges.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The punch of flavor hits you instantly but leaves you craving another spoonful like some delicious magic trick.
  • Its deceptively simple to make yet delivers restaurant quality results that will have friends convinced youve been secretly studying Thai cuisine for years.
02 -
  • Never boil the soup aggressively after adding the aromatics or youll lose the delicate volatile compounds that make Tom Yum so special.
  • The soup actually tastes even better the next day after the flavors have had time to meld, though youll want to add fresh herbs and lime just before serving.
03 -
  • Instead of discarding tough lemongrass ends, freeze them to add to future stocks or tea infusions, extracting every bit of their expensive flavor.
  • When shopping for fish sauce, look for bottles with clear amber liquid rather than very dark brown, which can indicate oxidation or lower quality ingredients.
Go back