Tom Yum Soup Recipe
This truly authentic Tom Yum Soup Recipe is straight from our travels to Southeast Asia this summer. Often called Thai Hot and Sour Soup, it’s bold and perky with a pop of spicy heat. Plus, it’s gluten free and paleo.
Why We Love This Thai Tom Yum Goong Soup
One of the meals I most enjoyed in Thailand that surprised me the most was a light and lean soup, called Tom Yum.
Tom Yum is a simple, but flavorful, soup made with fresh lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, chiles, and protein… Usually shrimp.
And in Thailand, it’s everywhere. EVERYWHERE.
It’s the most popular soup, arguably the most popular recipe, in the country. And with good reason. It is one of my favorite dishes ever!
You cannot walk into a restaurant without spotting Tom Yum on the menu. Therefore, we ate a lot of it. And we had the opportunity to make Tom Yum ourselves a few times, with expert instruction.
Tom Yum is actually very easy to make in the western hemisphere, exactly the way they make it in Thailand.
The Hot and Sour Soup flavor comes from the addition of chiles, or sometimes Thai chile paste, and a hearty splash of lime juice added at the end.
Most likely, you will need to stop at a local Asian market to find some of the ingredients. But trust me, this Thai soup is worth the trip.
(Plus, Asian market exploration is a lot of fun!)
What Does Tom Yum Mean?
The name Tom Yum is derived from two Thai words…
Tom refers to boiling.
Yum refers to the spicy and sour flavor combination.
There are many variations of Tom Yum Soup in Thailand. Yet this classic recipe, and most popular version, is sometimes called Tom Yum Goong or Tom Yum Kung… AKA Thai Hot and Sour Soup.
Both of the words Goong and Kung refer to shrimp or prawns.
So in essence, the name means “Boiling Hot and Sour Shrimp” soup.
Ingredients You Need
Don’t be scared of the ingredients list for this recipe for tom yum soup. Once you find these items at an Asian market, they are easy to use and totally worth all of the flavor you get!
- Whole Shrimp – We’re talking heads and all. You need shrimp with heads to make the “shrimp oil” for the soup. If you don’t have shrimp heads to make the oil, you don’t have real Tom Yum.
- Oil – For the shrimp oil. This is drizzled into the soup at the end to offer an intense seafood flavor. You can use any flavorless oil you like!
- Water – You are making your own broth with the herbs and shrimp, so there’s no need for store-bought broth.
- Lemongrass – Fresh stalks of lemongrass offer a bold refreshing taste. Use the softer interior stalks so they can be eaten once cooked. If the stalks are tough you will have to remove them before serving.
- Kaffir Lime Leaves – Also known as Makrut lime leaves. This Asian herb creates a distinct flavor that cannot be replaced by anything else. Find it at your local Asian market.
- Onion – Shallots or sweet onion are traditional.
- Thai Chiles – These small red chiles often called “bird chiles” are hot and flavorful. If you can’t find fresh Thai Bird Chiles, you can use Thai chiles paste instead.
- Galangal – A root herb I had never heard of until our recent trip to Asia. This herb can be found in Asian markets, fresh or frozen. It looks like ginger, but has a completely different flavor. Galangal is not mandatory for the flavor of the Tom Yum recipe, but it is always used in Thailand. It is added to seafood recipes specifically to neutralize the strong fishy aroma.
- Fish Sauce – The mother sauce of Thai cuisine!
- Mushrooms – You can use any type of mushrooms you like. Straw mushrooms and enoki mushrooms are traditional, but button mushrooms are fine as well.
- Lime Juice – Freshly squeezed. This is highly important! Do not buy the bottled variety.
How To Make Tom Yum Kung Soup
Pull the heads off of the shrimp and place them in wok or large skillet. Peel and clean the shrimp and set aside. You can add the shrimp shells to the skillet as well, but the heads are the most important part.
Add the oil to the skillet and set over medium or medium-high heat. Add a good pinch of salt. Sauté the shrimp heads to release their flavor into the oil, cooking until they are red and crispy. Then turn off the heat.
Meanwhile, trim the tips and root ends of the lemongrass stalks and remove the tough outer layers. Cut the lemongrass into 1 1/2 inch segments. Cut the galangal into 3 or 4 pieces.
Using a meat mallet or the side of a knife, smash the lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, onion, chilies, and galangal. Place them in a medium soup pot. Pour the water into the pot then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the broth smells bright and fragrant. Alternative to water, you can use chicken stock if you prefer.
Remove and discard any tough sections of lemon grass. Keel them all in if the stalks are soft. Increase the heat to high. Stir in the mushrooms. Boil for 1 minutes. Then stir in the shrimp and fish sauce, cooking until the shrimp are just cooked through, about 45 seconds.
Turn off the heat and stir in the lime juice. Then stir in 3-4 tablespoons of the shrimp oil. Discard the heads, you don’t want to add them to the soup.
Serve with fresh lime wedges and cilantro. Tom yum is often served over rice, however, it’s low carb if served as is!
See The Full (Printable) Tom Yum Soup Recipe Below!
Tom Yum Goong Variations
Thai Hot and Sour Soup can be made into a creamy version, by adding some full-fat canned coconut milk to the mix. If you like it extra spicy, you can also add Thai chili paste to the creamy version. The coconut milk will balance out the bold spiciness! To make creamy tom yum, add some coconut milk before adding the mushrooms to the soup.
Either way, it’s lean, low fat, gluten free, dairy free and packed with traditional Thai flavor!
Tips & Tricks
- The soup will be as flavorful as the liquid base! So if you don’t have a flavorful liquid, the soup might not be as good. Sautéing the shrimp heads is what releases the umami flavor of the shrimp that makes tom yum soup tasty.
- Customize the spice level! Red Thai chiles are pretty spicy, so you can cut back on them if you prefer it to be less spicy. Or add a dash of coconut cream at the end to cut back on the spice.
- Lemongrass, lime leaves, and galangal are the Thai trifecta of flavor here. Don’t skip them!
- Serve your tom yum soup in large soup bowls and garnish with green onions and cilantro before serving if desired! Be sure to serve with some extra lime, too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tom yum and tom kha are very similar, but tom kha soup is the creamy version of tom yum, with added coconut milk and chili paste into the broth.
No, I would avoid eating the lemongrass pieces, lime leaves and galangal pieces in the soup. That is why they are added in larger chunks so you can see the pieces in your bowl!
You can store leftover hot and sour soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. To reheat, use the microwave or gently simmer in a saucepan. Make sure not to overcook the shrimp tho! You can take them out at the beginning and only add them back to the soup while reheating for a few seconds.
Looking for More Thai Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Spicy Thai Chicken Soup
- Keto Thai Larb Rolls
- The BEST Panang Curry
- Easy Chicken Pad Thai
- Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
- Nam Sod Lettuce Wraps
- Red Lentil Curry
- See all our International Recipes!
Tom Yum Soup (Hot and Sour Soup)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds medium-sized whole raw shrimp (with heads intact)
- 1/3 cup flavorless oil
- 6 cups water
- 5 stalks fresh lemongrass
- 15 Kaffir lime leaves, fresh or frozen
- ½ onion, peeled and cut into wedges
- 4-6 Thai chiles (or Thai chile paste to taste)
- 1 inch piece galangal root, optional
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 cup straw or button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 lime, juiced
- Possible Garnishes: cilantro leaves and lime wedges
Instructions
- Pull the heads off the shrimp and place them in a wok or large skillet. Peel and clean the shrimp and set aside. *You can add the shrimp shells to the skillet as well, but the heads are the important part.
- Add the oil to the skillet and set over medium heat. Add a good pinch of salt. Sauté the shrimp heads to release their flavor into the oil, cooking until they are red and crispy. Then turn off the heat.
- Meanwhile, trim the tips and root ends of the lemongrass stalks and remove the tough outer layers. Cut the lemongrass into 1 ½ inch segments. Cut the galangal into 3 or 4 pieces.
- Using a meat mallet or the side of a knife, smash the lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, onion, chilies, and galangal. Place them in a medium soup pot. Pour the water into the pot then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the broth smells bright and fragrant.
- Remove and discard any tough sections of lemongrass. (Keep them all in if the stalks are soft.) Increase the heat to high. Stir in the mushrooms. Boil for 1 minute. Then stir in the shrimp and fish sauce, cooking until the shrimp are just cooked through, about 45 seconds.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the lime juice. Then stir in 3-4 tablespoons of the shrimp oil. (Discard the heads; do not add them to the soup.)
- Serve with fresh lime wedges and cilantro. Tom Yum is often served over rice, however it’s low carb served as-is!
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Great recipe. I have some Alaskan crab shells in the freezer that I’m going to use in the stock in place of shrimp. Thanks for sharing!
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