“Oh, I love tom yum!” is what I kept hearing when I mentioned my cooking plans to the people around me.
Everybody, apparently, from Victoria to Tokyo, loves tom yum. It is not hard to understand why. First, it has become a reliable staple in Thai restaurants around the world. More importantly, there is something oddly seductive about this sour soup, so comforting despite a reliance on seasonings largely unfamiliar in the culinary traditions outside of Southeast Asia. Perhaps it is because it manages to strike the perfect balance between hot and cool, fresh and pungent, exotic and familiar. It satisfies a craving for adventure and a reluctance to adventure too far, and it does so without a hint of pretension.
What less people seem aware of, at least from personal experience, is that Tom Yum is very easy and quick to make at home. The only caveat is that, depending on where you live, it may a challenge to find the ingredients that make Tom Yum stock so distinctive and delicious: galangal, kaffir lime leaves and fresh lemongrass.
I also like to add Thai eggplant to my Tom Yum, but this is entirely idiosyncratic! Most recipes only call for tomatoes, and you can certainly substitute other types of eggplant if you enjoy eggplant like I do.
Shiitake mushroom, cherry tomatoes, Thai eggplant and kaffir lime leaves
I wasn’t able get my hands on prawn heads with which to make shrimp stock, so I used chicken broth and added a small handful of dried anchovies/baby sardines to make my chicken a little more aquatic, so to speak. Dried anchovies/baby sardines, as far as I’m concerned, are used in Japanese and Korean cuisine to make soup stock and snacks. You can usually find them in Asian grocery stores. They are called Niboshi (煮干し) or Iriko (炒り子) in Japanese, and myulchi (멸치) in Korean. You can omit them if you cannot find them (or even better, if you can make actual shrimp stock!)
Joëlle
Serves 2
Everybody loves Tom Yum! This oddly seductive sour soup manages to strike the perfect balance between hot and cool, fresh and pungent, exotic and familiar. It satisfies at once a craving for adventure and a reluctance to adventure too far.
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Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 8 dried anchovies
- 8 thin slices galangal
- 7 kaffir lime leaves, bruised
- 1 stalk lemongrass, smashed and cut into 5cm pieces*
- 2 cups mushroom (I used oyster and shiitake)
- 4 Thai eggplant, stems removed and quartered
- 12 medium prawns, shell on
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- Handful cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tbsp fish sauce, or to taste
- 2-3 scallions, thinly sliced
- Handful cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Bring the stock ingredients to a boil over medium heat. Boil until the stock is fragrant, 5-10 minutes.
- Add mushrooms and let the stock come back to a boil. When the mushrooms are almost cooked through, add the eggplant and cook for a few minutes more.
- Add the shrimp and turn off the heat. Leave the shrimp to cook in the hot stock for a few minutes, until the flesh becomes almost opaque.
- Add the tomatoes, shallots, lime juice and fish sauce, tasting to adjust the saltiness and acidity.
- Garnish with scallions and cilantro leaves and serve.
Notes
To prepare the lemongrass, cut the ends off, remove the tough outer leaves, smash the remaining stick with the back of a knife to help release the flavour, and cut into 5cm pieces. Traditionally, the lime leaves and the pieces of galangal and lemongrass are left in the soup for their decorative appeal. They are not meant to be eaten! Neither are the prawn shells, of course.
Calories
Fat
Carbs
Protein
Guidance and Inspiration
Hot Thai Kitchen — Tom Yum Goong
❤ Thank you Pailin!
