Ah yes, Tom Yum...anything with the word “yum” in the name has to be good, right? This unique soup that originated in Thailand has become popular in Singapore, Malaysia, and many other countries as well. With good reason, as its distinct spicy and sour qualities and heavy usage of aromatics such as lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and galangal (in the ginger root family) offer an intoxicating fragrance and a punch of flavor that all starts with a simple broth or stock.
Now, don’t be intimidated by what may be an unfamiliar list of ingredients. Many of these ingredients can be found at an Asian market, but they can also be ordered online from Amazon (I will receive a small percentage of compensation for any Amazon purchases made when you click a link in this blog post). I recommend that you purchase the fresh kaffir lime leaves, not the dry ones. Put these in foil or vacuum seal them and freeze to maintain the essential oils which are diminished or entirely absent in the dried leaves. The leaves are great in curries and soups and will keep for months in the freezer. I’ll post a chicken red curry recipe tomorrow, so you’ll have multiple recipes for your lime leaves. Fresh galangal is in the same family as ginger, but it is typically larger and has a more mild flavor. You cut it into quarter dollar pieces for the purpose of this recipe.
Lemongrass is awesome in marinades, on meat, and in soups. You can also get that on Amazon if you can’t find it at the store, although it is probably the most widely available of the three of these. Most Asian markets will have it at very cheap prices, and, if you are so inclined, you can cut the root off, put it in a glass of water for a couple weeks, and it will sprout so you can plant it and grow your own. It is also a natural insect repellent, so feel free to use it as a back porch table decoration too! This video will talk a little bit about lemongrass and show you how to handle it (we will be using the third method for this soup):
Lemongrass is awesome in marinades, on meat, and in soups. You can also get that on Amazon if you can’t find it at the store, although it is probably the most widely available of the three of these. Most Asian markets will have it at very cheap prices, and, if you are so inclined, you can cut the root off, put it in a glass of water for a couple weeks, and it will sprout so you can plant it and grow your own. It is also a natural insect repellent, so feel free to use it as a back porch table decoration too! This video will talk a little bit about lemongrass and show you how to handle it (we will be using the third method for this soup):
Kaffir lime leaves, galangal, and lemongrass are all added to a broth or stock of your choice (I typically use chicken stock, but have made my own shellfish broth as well and it was great). The traditional Thai method is to toss everything in and eat around it, but I sort of borrowed a technique from French cooking to allow the flavor to disperse without all the fragments of these aromatics escaping and becoming a nuisance when I’m eating my soup. I refer to this as the “Asian bouquet garni” (the French version typically contains bay leaves and thyme or other herbs):
If you float this bad boy in basic broth or stock for 10 minutes, you’ll have something completely different (in a very good way) from what you started with. Add lime juice, fish sauce, mushrooms, chili paste, chilies, cilantro, and green onions and you’re not even in the same country anymore. Oh yeah, that’s right...you’re now in Asia somewhere.
As you get toward the end of the cook time (right after you add the shrimp and turn off the heat for the last 4-5 minutes), you’ll add some chili paste and Thai chilies to a bowl. This soup can be altered however your taste dictates. If you like spicy, add more chilies. If you like more sweet, add a bit more chili paste in soya bean oil. More sour or “funky”? Add some lime juice or fish sauce (if you don’t want fish sauce, you can replace it with salt...although that’s far from an exact substitute). Here’s what the soybean oil looks like, as well as what your bowl set-up should look like right before you ladle on the soup itself.
Is this making you hungry? I ate this for dinner tonight and it’s still making me hungry! When you’re at this point, it’s just a matter of ladling some mushrooms, shrimp, and broth/stock into a bowl and mixing the chili paste into it. Again, adjust the seasoning (fish sauce, lime juice, chilies, chili paste, herbs, etc) to your liking. My personal tweaks to the recipe include a bonus squeeze of lime and an extra large helping of green onions and cilantro. The result is a wonderfully complex flavored soup from what really is a simple, albeit underused (in America at least), combination of ingredients.
Serve it up with or without rice and chow down! View the recipe here or you can print it by clicking on any of the pictures above or just clicking here. There is also a printable recipe on the recipe page of the website. Enjoy!
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