Thailand · Thai cuisine (soups)
Tom yum goong
A fragrant, fiery Thai hot-and-sour soup of prawns in a clear broth scented with lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves, with mushrooms, bird's eye chillies, fish sauce and a lot of lime juice, served with jasmine rice.
Cookhuddle Editorial Cookhuddle | Thailand
Editorial selection: recipes cross-checked against several documentary sources. They have not been tested in our kitchen: follow the precautions given and adapt times to your own oven.
original Original text, written in English.
Read this recipe inespañol · translationEnglish · originalfrançais · translation
- Servings
- 4
- Preparation
- 25 min
- Cooking
- 20 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
Cuisine / tradition: Thai cuisine (soups) (TH) — declared by the author
- Soup
- Main dish
- Quick
Ingredients
For 4 servings
- 12 piece large prawns, head-on, peeled leaving the heads and tails (about 500 g)
- 1.2 l water (or light chicken stock)
- 2 piece lemongrass stalks, bruised and cut in 5 cm pieces
- 10 slice slices of galangal (about 3 cm)
- 2 piece shallots, bruised
- 200 g straw or oyster mushrooms, halved
- 4 piece cherry tomatoes
- 6 piece kaffir lime leaves, torn
- 5 piece bird's eye chillies, bruised
- 1 tbsp nam prik pao (Thai roasted chilli paste)
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
- 4 tbsp lime juice
- 4 tbsp evaporated milk (optional, for the creamy nam khon version)
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander and spring onion, chopped
- 300 g jasmine rice, cooked, to serve
Method
- Step 1. Peel the prawns, leaving the heads and tails on, and devein them. Put the shells in a pot with the water and bring to the boil, then simmer for 8 minutes. Strain, discard the shells and return the stock to the pot.⏱ 8 min
- Step 2. Add the lemongrass, galangal and shallots to the stock, bring back to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes to infuse.⏱ 5 min
- Step 3. Add the mushrooms and the cherry tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes, then add the prawns and cook for about 2 minutes, until pink and curled.⏱ 2 min
- Step 4. Take a ladle of broth and stir it into the nam prik pao to loosen it, then pour it back into the pot. Add the fish sauce and the sugar. For the creamy nam khon version, stir in the evaporated milk now. Do not let the soup boil hard.
- Step 5. Take the pot off the heat. Add the lime juice, the torn lime leaves, the bruised chillies and the coriander and spring onion. Taste: it should be sour, salty, hot and very slightly sweet; adjust with a little more lime, fish sauce or chilli.
- Step 6. Serve immediately in bowls, with the jasmine rice. Lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves flavour the soup and are not eaten.
Story and cultural note
Tom yum goong is the Thai hot-and-sour prawn soup. The sources distinguish the clear version, tom yum nam sai, from the creamy nam khon version, which adds evaporated milk and roasted chilli paste (nam prik pao); making the clear version only requires leaving out the milk and the chilli jam. They agree that galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and bird's eye chillies are the base, that fish sauce and lime juice give the salt and the sour, and that oyster or straw mushrooms are best. They differ on stock or water, on sugar, and on when the lime juice goes in.
Tips for success
Make a quick stock with the prawn shells for depth. Bruise the lemongrass, galangal and chillies to release their aroma. Add the lime juice off the heat so that it stays bright and does not turn bitter. Taste and balance the four notes: sour, salty, hot and a little sweet. Do not eat the galangal, lemongrass or lime leaves.
Serving and presentation
Serve in deep bowls with the prawns arranged on top and a sprinkle of coriander, with jasmine rice on the side and a little extra chilli and lime for those who want more.
Diet and allergens
Information declared by the author. CookHuddle does not verify or certify it. If you have an allergy, check the ingredients yourself.
DietGluten-freeEgg-freeNut-free
ContainsCrustaceansFish
May contain traces ofMilk
