Tom yum is a deliciously savory Thai soup that's full of flavor: spicy, salty, and a little sour. Made with classically Thai aromatics like lemongrass, ginger or galangal, and Thai chilis, this recipe brings Thai takeout to your house, and it's so easy! This recipe is made with shrimp, but you can use tofu or chicken, too, and we offer substitutes to any ingredient that might be hard to find.
Prep 10 minutesminutes
Cook 20 minutesminutes
Total 30 minutesminutes
Recipe Makes (Approximate): 4
Ingredients
32ouncesChinese chicken stock
2full stalkslemongrass(bruised and cut into about 3 1-2″ pieces per stalk (See Notes))
6¼” slicesginger or galangal
1 ½tablespoonslime juice(plus more to taste)
5-6Thai chilis(pounded, sliced, or left whole (See Notes))
1teaspoonpalm sugar(or light brown sugar or maple)
12medium shrimp
2button mushrooms(thinly sliced)
1green onion(green part thinly sliced, for garnish)
cilantro(chopped)
Instructions
Boil lemongrass, chili slices, and ginger in chicken stock for 5-10 minutes. Add palm sugar and fish sauce. Taste and add more fish sauce for saltiness, palm sugar for complex sweetness.
Add in mushrooms and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Add in shrimp and simmer about 5 more minutes until shrimp is pink and no longer translucent.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro and green onions. Add lime juice to each bowl to taste.
Recipe Notes
Lemongrass paste: Sub 4 teaspoons for fresh lemongrass, or start with 3 and add to taste.
Spice level: Use whole or sliced Thai chilis (do not eat!) for less heat, or crush chilis for very spicy. Can also sub with red chilis, which are less spicy.
Tofu instead of shrimp: Use a 1-pound block of firm or extra firm tofu cut into bite-sized cubes (either regular or silken is fine).
Recipe yields approximately 4 servings. Nutritional values shown are general guidelines, and reflect information for one serving. Macros may vary slightly depending on specific types and brands of ingredients used.To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by 4. Result will be the weight of one serving.