Tom yum is a type of Thai hot and sour soup where the iconic flavours come from 3 herbs: lemongrass, galangal, and makrut (kaffir) lime leaves. I call these herbs the “tom yum trinity.” It can be made with any meat or seafood, even leftover cooked meats, but the most popular version is made with shrimp, i.e. tom yum goong (goong means shrimp).
If I had to pick a national dish for Thailand this would be a strong contender because it’s eaten all over the country and is loved by essentially everyone. It’s served at street-side eateries, fancy restaurants, and is commonly made at home. It was also a staple in my elementary school cafeteria!
There are tons of different versions, and the tom yum flavour is so good it has been turned into other dishes like tom yum spaghetti, tom yum fried rice – and even tom yum pizza which was introduced by Pizza Hut in Thailand! You can also make a delicious tom yum stir fry or what we call “dry tom yum.”
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are all the ingredients for tom yum soup, with notes on possible substitutions.
Medium to large shrimp, head-on, shell-on preferable. The shrimp shells and heads are for making shrimp stock for maximum shrimpiness. If not available, you can use chicken stock. See the FAQ below if you want to use other proteins.
Chicken stock, if not using shell-on shrimp. Unsalted chicken stock is preferable so that we can add an appropriate amount of fish sauce without it becoming too salty.
Makrut lime leaves (previously known as kaffir lime leaves). If fresh isn’t available look for frozen. Dried can work, but double the amount. For more info on this, watch my guide to makrut lime leaves video.
Lemongrass. Fresh is best as it is the main flavour of the soup, but whole frozen lemongrass is fine (not chopped). Dried isn’t ideal, but it’s workable; you’ll have to experiment with amounts but you can keep adding until the flavour really comes through. Do not use powdered. For more info, watch my guide to lemongrass video.
Galangal. That’s the knobby thing that looks a bit like ginger. Frozen or dried will work as a substitute. Worst case, you can omit it and your soup will still be tasty. Do not substitute with ginger, which tastes very different. For more info, watch my guide to galangal video.
Thai chilies, amount is to taste.
Thai chilli paste/chili jam. Known as nam prik pao in Thai, this is a sweet-savoury thick paste that you can buy or make at home using this recipe. See more on this ingredient below.
Fresh lime juice. Fresh is the key word here.
Fish sauce. Use good quality fish sauce as it is the main seasoning. Watch my fish sauce tasting/guide video for recommendations.
Sugar
Oyster mushrooms, or another type of Asian mushrooms such as shimeji, enoki or fresh shiitake. If you can find them, straw mushrooms are the most common type used in tom yum in Thailand. Don’t use button mushrooms, they’re not nearly as good in soups.
Cilantro for garnish. Sub green onions if you don’t like cilantro.
How to Make Tom Yum Soup
Make the shrimp stock by sauteing shrimp shells and/or heads until the bottom of the pot starts collecting browned bits.
Deglaze with water and scrape all the stuck bits from the bottom of the pot.
If using shrimp heads, use tongs to squeeze out the tasty tomalley inside.
Simmer for about 45 minutes. You can add some chopped onions to the simmering stock right now if you want some added flavour.
Strain the stock and add the lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime leaves and Thai chilies.
Simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the shrimp, bring the stock back to a simmer and then turn off the heat.
Allow the residual heat of the soup to fully cook the shrimp for the next 2 minutes.
Add the Thai chili paste and fish sauce and stir to dissolve the chili paste.
Add lime juice and then taste and adjust, adding the sugar only if needed.
It’s ready to serve! Note: the herbs are for infusion purposes only and are not meant to be eaten; however, they’re traditionally left in the soup for garnish.
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