Tom Yam Soup
Tom Yam soup may be the most recognizable Thai dish, featured on the menu at almost every Thai restaurant. Tom Yam soup is normally made with prawns, this is called "Tom Yam Kung". You can also use chicken (kai), fish (pla), or seafood. Tom Yam soup is known for its distinct hot and sour flavors, with fragrant herbs such as kaffir lime leaf and lemongrass. Many people believe that Tom Yam soup and it's ingredients have health benefits including immune-boosting powers to help with cold and flu viruses as well as inhibiting cancerous tumor growth. Studies show that South East Asians are far less likely to have digestive tract cancers than people of western countries.
How To Make Tom Yam Soup
The recipe below is for the modern style "nam khon" variety of Tom Yam soup, which includes coconut milk as apposed to the traditional variety "nam sai" with a clear broth. You may need to substitute some ingredients based on availability. The Thai stylevariety of Tom Yam soup uses whole prawns with the head on, however you can choose to clean the prawns if you would like. If you are using chicken, you should use diced chicken breast. Tom Yam can also be made using diced white fish and a variety of shell fish and squid. Needless to say, you should always use the freshest ingredients as possible.
Ingredients
300 grams of fresh prawns (you may substitute with chicken or seafood)
1 cup of coconut milk
1 cup of water
2 tablespoons of Thai chili paste
3 large tomatoes diced
2 large limes
3 Kaffir lime leaves sliced
1 stalk of lemongrass thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of fresh sliced galangal
2 tablespoons of fresh sliced ginger
3 fresh red Thai chili peppers chopped
3 green onions chopped
1/3 cup of mushrooms halved
1/2 tablespoon of chicken oxo
2 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce
2 tablespoons of sugar
a pinch of salt
1 cup of coconut milk
1 cup of water
2 tablespoons of Thai chili paste
3 large tomatoes diced
2 large limes
3 Kaffir lime leaves sliced
1 stalk of lemongrass thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of fresh sliced galangal
2 tablespoons of fresh sliced ginger
3 fresh red Thai chili peppers chopped
3 green onions chopped
1/3 cup of mushrooms halved
1/2 tablespoon of chicken oxo
2 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce
2 tablespoons of sugar
a pinch of salt
Cooking Instructions
1: Bring the water and coconut milk to a slow boil in a large pot.
2: Add the Thai chili paste to the boiling water and milk.
3: Stir the pot until the curry paste is mixed with the water and milk.
4: Add the lemongrass and chicken and continue to stir.
5: Squeeze the juice of the limes into the pot, as well as the remaining ingredients.
6: Simmer until the chicken is cooked (3-5 minutes)
7: Garnish with parsely and serve in a bowl with a side plate of Jasmine rice.
