Asian Recipes - Thai Tom Yum Soup Recipe

Ingredients

• 5 to 6 cups/1.2 to 1.5 L chicken stock

• 15 straw mushrooms or other mushroom of your choice, cleaned, trimmed of stems and cut in half

• 15 large prawns, peeled with tails on, or 1 lb/500 g thinly sliced meat or seafood of your choice

• Fresh coriander leaves and lime wedges to garnish

Seasoning:

• 2 stalks lemon grass trimmed

• cut into 2-inch/5-cm pieces

• 5 to 8 thick slices of fresh galanga

• 3 to 6 fresh kaffir lime leaves

• Fresh chilies to taste, sliced in half lengthwise

• 2 to 3 tsp/10 to 15 ml Thai roasted chili paste (optional)

• 2 to 3 dashes of fish sauce, or to taste

• 3 tbsp/45 ml fresh lime juice, or to taste

Serves 4

---

Method:

1. Prepare all ingredients and have at hand. In a deep pan bring the stock to a boil. Adjust the heat to a low boil and add the lemon grass, galanga, lime leaves and chilies. Allow the soup to simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Add the roasted chili paste (if using), fish sauce and lime juice and stir to dissolve the chili paste. Add the mushroom halves followed by the prawns (or sliced meat or seafood) and stir.

3. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning, adding more fish sauce, lime juice and a pinch of sugar as desired.

4. As soon as the prawns are cooked to your liking, serve the soup garnished with fresh coriander. Pass the lime wedges around at the table.

This soup is very popular in Thailand with Thais and tourists alike. It's not unusual to have this soup accompanied by just a bowl of plain jasmine rice for breakfast, lunch or as a very late night snack. The name for this dish describes two of the oldest cooking techniques in the Thai kitchen: tom means a dish that is boiled or simmered and yum (or yam) is a term traditionally used to describe mixed dishes or salads. In its modern sense it means a dish made with chilies, lime juice and fish sauce.