Recipes
Tom Yum Soup
Serves 4
| Prep Time: 5 mins
| Cook Time: 20 mins
| Total Time: 25 mins
You may need: Thai Kaffir Lime
Discover The Recipe
Tom Yum soup is a popular Thai dish known for its spicy, sour, and aromatic flavors. Brought to the world by Thai restaurants, Tom Yum Soup has become a revered emblem of Thai cuisine. It's typically made with a combination of ingredients such as lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal (a cousin of ginger), chili peppers, fish sauce, and lime juice. This soup often includes shrimp or chicken, but it can easily be adapted into a vegetarian version using vegetable stock, mushrooms, and tofu in place of meat ingredients. Fresh galangal is citrusy, and slightly earthy, with hints of pine and ginger. But it's more floral and peppery than ginger. You can buy galangal in specialty or Asian markets and use it instead of ginger for an authentic flavor. This humble soup expertly balances citrusy-acid notes from the lime juice and Kaffir Lime with the herbal aromas from lemongrass and cilantro - the result is a sublime dance of flavor. In Thai tradition, sharing Tom Yum Soup embodies warmth, conviviality, and hospitality. It's a communal celebration uniting people over its flavorful tapestry—an invitation to immerse yourself in your community of family and friends. We think this easy to make dish will grace your dinner menus for years to come.
Ingredients
Tom Yum broth:
3 shallots, sliced into quarters
~10 cilantro stems, removed from leaves (reserve leaves)
1 stalk of fresh lemongrass (optional)
1 inch galangal root or ginger knob, sliced into ¼ inch rounds
1-2 Thai bird's eye chilis or sub in ½ Tbsp Thai chili garlic sauce (optional)
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Tom Yum soup:
4 oz oyster (or shiitake) mushrooms
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp Piquant Post Thai Kaffir Lime spice
10 oz shrimp (fresh or frozen/thawed), peeled and deveined
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice (~2 small limes)
Chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish
To serve: cooked jasmine rice
Notes
To make a creamy version of this soup, and ⅓ cup of evaporated milk.
If you don’t have birds eye chilis, add ½ Tbsp chili garlic sauce when you add the fish sauce.
Optional ingredients add a little character and flavor but don’t sweat it if you don’t have them.
Instructions
In a large pot, combine all the broth ingredients. If you like spicy heat, add the whole bird’s eye chilis (or use ½ Tbsp Thai chili garlic sauce). Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain broth to remove aromatics. Return broth to pot on Med heat.
Add the oyster mushrooms, simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in sugar, fish sauce and Piquant Post Kaffir Lime. Add shrimp and cook for ~2 minutes, until pink and cooked through. Remove soup from heat.
Add lime juice to individual bowls. Ladle soup into individual bowls.
Serve with side bowls of cooked jasmine rice and garnish soup with fresh cilantro.
Alternatives & Substitutions
Try using our Kaffir Lime in our easy and delicious Thai Shrimp Skewers With Coconut Lime Dipping Sauce or Kaffir Lime Butternut Bisque, or our Chicken Khao Soi, and Easy Vegan Laksa recipes.
Carnivores: you’re going to love these school-night friendly Thai Meatballs. And, this Thai Steak Salad!
Prefer to make a dessert? Try kaffir lime powder on our Thai Coconut Rice with Mango dessert recipe.
Or, add our Kaffir Lime to other classic Southeast Asian dishes like Thai Green Curry, Beef Rendang or Massamam Curry. Or make a Vegan Tom Kha Gai Soup
Be sure to leave comments and feedback on your meals and experiments in the comments for others to read.
Post pictures of your masterpiece meal on social media and tag us. We repost!
Tom Yum Soup
Serves
4
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
25 mins
Piquant Post spice you'll need: Thai Kaffir Lime
Ingredients
Tom Yum broth:
3 shallots, sliced into quarters
~10 cilantro stems, removed from leaves (reserve leaves)
1 stalk of fresh lemongrass (optional)
1 inch galangal root or ginger knob, sliced into ¼ inch rounds
1-2 Thai bird's eye chilis or sub in ½ Tbsp Thai chili garlic sauce (optional)
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Tom Yum soup:
4 oz oyster (or shiitake) mushrooms
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp Piquant Post Thai Kaffir Lime spice
10 oz shrimp (fresh or frozen/thawed), peeled and deveined
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice (~2 small limes)
Chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish
To serve: cooked jasmine rice
Instructions
In a large pot, combine all the broth ingredients. If you like spicy heat, add the whole bird’s eye chilis (or use ½ Tbsp Thai chili garlic sauce). Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain broth to remove aromatics. Return broth to pot on Med heat.
Add the oyster mushrooms, simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in sugar, fish sauce and Piquant Post Kaffir Lime. Add shrimp and cook for ~2 minutes, until pink and cooked through. Remove soup from heat.
Add lime juice to individual bowls. Ladle soup into individual bowls.
Serve with side bowls of cooked jasmine rice and garnish soup with fresh cilantro.
Notes
To make a creamy version of this soup, and ⅓ cup of evaporated milk.
If you don’t have birds eye chilis, add ½ Tbsp chili garlic sauce when you add the fish sauce.
Optional ingredients add a little character and flavor but don’t sweat it if you don’t have them.
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