Tom Yum Soup

 

 

Tom Yum is a Thai hot and sour soup, and is perhaps Thailand’s most widespread culinary export. It derives its unique flavors from four ingredients that can be quite difficult to find on this side of the Pacific:

 

 

 

 

Lemongrass:                                                                   Thai Chilis:

 

Kaffir Lime leaves:                                                                                             And Galangal Ginger (Not Pictured: a photogenic subject):

 

If you find yourself thinking, “Curses! I won’t be able to make this dish! I haven’t a well-stocked Asian market within a reasonable distance to my house,” then I have some good news for you. Anytime you find yourself unable to purchase an item, there is a magical company that will send items directly to your house:

I bought these ingredients from user TastePadThai, who allows you to buy a significant serving of all four ingredients in a nineteen dollar bundle. These ingredients are all necessary for this dish, and there really isn’t any substituting any of these flavors. However, if you go through the trouble of acquiring the ingredients, you will be rewarded with flavors that are largely unheard of in Western cuisine.

 

What You’ll Need:

• About 15 minutes
• 2 stalks lemongrass, cut into 6 inch pieces
• 2 to 3 kaffir lime leaves, torn to small pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 1-inch pieces of galangal, or 1 teaspoon grated galangal,
• 3-4 Thai Chilis
• 8 oz fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• Juice of 1-2 limes
• 1-2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Optional: Other vegetables of your choice. Suggestions: Broccoli, cherry or Roma tomatoes, or baby bok choy
• Optional: 1/2 cup coconut milk or Carnation evaporated milk (believe it or not, evaporated milk is the more traditional of the two)
• Optional: 1 cup peeled shrimp
• Optional: A handful of cilantro

Quick Instructions:

1. Fill a pot with four cups of water. Add lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, and bring the pot to a boil over high heat.
2. Once the pot is boiling, reduce heat to a simmer. Add the mushrooms, garlic, ginger, lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, and soy sauce. Stir well, and simmer for five minutes.
3. Add additional vegetables and shrimp, and simmer for another three minutes.
4. Reduce heat. Taste the broth and adjust accordingly to taste. If the soup isn’t sour enough, add more fish sauce. For more salt, add soy sauce. Not hot enough? Crush a pepper with the flat of a knife and add it to the broth.
5. Serve into bowls, and add cilantro to each bowl according to taste.

In-Depth Instructions (Including Pictures and Preparation Tips):

I would recommend preparing the ingredients prior to cooking, as the actual cooking process is so swift, and it is likely that you have never worked with some of these ingredients. I made my soup with shiitake mushrooms and baby bok choy (I highly recommend this choice of vegetable), but with no shrimp or milk. I chose to hold out on the milk in the name of authenticity: I had never had tom yum without coconut milk (which is not traditional). I chose to hold out on the shrimp because my roommate is highly allergic, and I value his contributions to rent. Regardless of authenticity, the general consensus is that the addition of coconut milk is highly agreeable to Western tastebuds.

 

 

 

What we have pictured here is how a fool might prepare lemongrass. The problem is that, while lemongrass can impart some lovely flavors onto your broth, the stalk is only technically edible. Truly, a mouthful of lemongrass is something to be avoided, so there are two ideal ways to prepare it: finely minced or cut into very large, very avoidable stalks. If you are not mincing, bruise the stalks with the flat of your knife to release the juices just prior to dropping them in the pot. Also pictured are the lime leaves, which should be removed from the stem down the center and torn.

 

 

 

 

The chilis should be removed from their stem and then cut horizontally. Beware: these are some terrifying little peppers. I would really only recommend using three unless you are aiming for a supremely spicy soup.

One last ingredient preparation note: cutting the ginger into chunks did very little to impart that lovely galangal flavor, so I recommend grating.

 

 

Let’s get onto the cooking then!

 

1.  Add your lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves to four cups of water, and bring the pot to a boil over high heat.

 

Note the foolishly prepared lemongrass. Seriously, don’t make the same mistake I did.

 

 

 

 

 

2. Reduce the heat and bring the pot to a simmer. Add the mushrooms, garlic, ginger, lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, and soy sauce. Stir well, and simmer for five minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Add any vegetables and shrimp. Simmer for 3 minutes.

4. Reduce heat and adjust for taste.

 

My adjustments: an additional tsp of fish sauce, juice of an additional half lime, about half a tsp of grated ginger

 

 

5. Serve into a bowl, adding cilantro to taste. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledgements:

 

This recipe was a conglomeration of three separate sites’ recipes. The originals can be viewed here:

http://www.thaitable.com/thai/recipe/tom-yum-goong

https://www.thespruce.com/traditional-tom-yum-kung-3217708

https://www.killingthyme.net/2015/06/06/tom-yum-soup-tom-yum-goong-nam-khon/

 

The ingredient set that I bought from amazon can be found here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OTPJWQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ye be warned: some of my ingredients arrived less than fresh, but he sent so much that it hardly mattered.