Spicy Thai Tom Yum Soup

Spicy Thai Tom Yum Soup

This authentic Thai Tom Yum soup delivers the perfect balance of hot, sour, salty, and sweet flavors that will transport you straight to Thailand. Packed with aromatic herbs, plump shrimp, and mushrooms in a fragrant broth, this restaurant-quality soup is surprisingly easy to make at home and guaranteed to clear your sinuses while warming your soul.

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Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Thai

Keyword: Soup

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 35

Servings:

Calories: 185kcal

Equipment

Chef's Knife

Chopping Board

Large Saucepan

Ingredients

2 liters water
4 stalks lemongrass bruised and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 inch galangal sliced
10 kaffir lime leaves torn
10 Thai chilies bruised
5 cloves garlic crushed
500 g shrimp peeled and deveined
300 g oyster mushrooms sliced
2 Roma tomatoes cut into wedges
2 medium white onions sliced
2 tsp sugar
8-12 tbsp fish sauce
8-12 tbsp fresh lime juice
Handful fresh cilantro chopped
3 tbsp Thai roasted chili sauce nam prik pao
10 tbsp evaporated milk

Instructions

Bring 2 liters of water to a boil in a large pot.
Add lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, Thai chilies, and crushed garlic to the boiling water.
Simmer the aromatic broth for 10 minutes to infuse the flavors.
Add shrimp, oyster mushrooms, tomato wedges, and sliced onions to the pot.
Continue simmering until the shrimp turns pink and is fully cooked, about 3-5 minutes.
Stir in sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, and Thai roasted chili sauce.
Add evaporated milk and stir gently to combine.
Taste and adjust seasoning with additional fish sauce for saltiness or lime juice for sourness.
Remove from heat and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro before serving.

Notes

Start with 8 tablespoons each of fish sauce and lime juice, then adjust to taste - the soup should be equally salty and sour

Bruise the lemongrass and chilies with the back of a knife to release more flavor

For a milder version, reduce the number of Thai chilies or remove seeds before adding

Galangal can be substituted with fresh ginger if unavailable, though the flavor will be slightly different

The aromatic herbs (lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves) are typically left in the soup but not eaten

For tom yum nam khon (creamy version), increase evaporated milk; for tom yum nam sai (clear version), omit the milk entirely

Fresh lime juice is essential - bottled lime juice will not provide the same bright, authentic flavor

Nutrition