Tom Yum Goong ­ Sour & Spicy Lemongrass Shrimp Soup Recipe

T om Yum Go o n g So u p ( C l i c k t o e n l a r g e )

Tom Yum is probably the most famous of Thai soups and is popular not only in Thailand but in Thai restaurantsworldwide. It is a clear, sour soup flavored with fragrant lemon grass, fresh galangal root and kaffir lime leaf. This potentherbal mixture is well known for its medicinal properties.

Tom Yum Goong is the most well­known variety of Tom Yum and makes use of shrimp (in Thai: goong or kung) as themain ingredient of the dish but you may also use firm flesh fish (see Tom Yum Taleh), chicken (see Tom Yum Gai) ormushrooms for a vegetarian version.

Ingredients

4 cups of water2 stalks fresh lemongrass, trim off the very end of the root and smash with the side of a cleaver or chef's knife; cutinto 1 inch pieces; or 2 pc dried3 slices fresh galangal root (smashed) or 2 pc dried3 fresh kaffir lime leave or 4 pc dried1 tbsp. tamarind paste, with or without seeds1 tbsp. fish sauce, Golden Boy brand preferred3/4 lb shrimps, medium to large size, shelled and de­veined; butterfly if desired12 fresh Thai chili peppers, whole or 2 medium sized jalepenos, cut lengthwise into 1/4­inch strips.1/2 small white onion, cut 1/4 inch slices2 tbsp. roasted chili paste (nam prik pao)1 (16 oz.) can straw mushrooms, drained and rinsed1 small ripe tomato, cut into wedges 1/4 inch thick1 small lime, squeezed2 sprigs fresh cilantro

Tom Yum Soup Set ­ Fresh Ingredients To Get You Started

Our Tom Yum Soup Set set contains lemongrass, galangal chili peppers & kaffir lime leavesessential for making delicious Tom Yum Soup and is available in our online Thai Grocery.

Preparation

Bring water to boil over high heat in a medium­sized saucepan. Add the lemon grass, galangal, kaffir lime leaf, fishsauce and tamarind paste (break apart the tamarind paste with your fingers as you add it). Add the shrimp, bring to aboil and cook 3 minutes. Add the onion, nam prik pao and straw mushrooms. Boil for another 7 minutes until the shrimpis cooked through. Add the chile peppers and tomatoes. Turn off the heat. Add the lime juice. Taste to adjust theseasoning, adding fish sauce to taste. Garnish with cilatantro, roasted whole chili peppers and a splash of coconut mik ifdesired and serve hot.

Serves 3 to 4.

Recipe Copyright © Temple of Thai 1999. Image © 2013 sutsaiy used under licensing from shutterstock.com

Hot Pot Soup Serving Bowl

Serve Tom Yum in this restaurant style Hot Pot Soup Serving Bowl, available from our Thai andAsian cookware section.

Shop online for prepared Thai Soup in our Thai food store.

24 Comments Temple of Thai Login1

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• Reply •

Twirler • 4 years ago

i recently went to a thai restaurant and had tom yum soup and the liquid was red and alittle oily. whatwould this ingredient be? it tasted similar to red curry paste.

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• Reply •

Temple of Thai • 4 years agoMod > Twirler

At the end of cooking, approximately a tablespoon of Chili paste in oil ("nam prik pao" in Thai) isadded ­ it is available ready made in a jar or packet and we can highly recommend Nittayabrand which can be found here in our online grocery: http://www.templeofthai.com/fo...Thanks for asking!

• Reply •

ruby • 5 years ago

I am preparing thai food every weekend. question tum yum soup paste can be use as well, instead ofroasted chilli paste?

ruby 1

• Reply •

Temple of Thai • 5 years agoMod > ruby

Yes you can use Tom yum soup paste but only add a bit and taste as you go because it tendsto be more citrusy and somewhat sour as it has lime juice, lemongrass, galangal and kaffir limeleaf added to it . You can compare the ingredients if you take a look in our store: Tom YumPaste, Por Kwan brand (Lemon grass, oil, onion, salt, chilli, galanga, lime juice, sugar, garlic,msg, kaffir lime leaves, shrimp extract flavor, citric acid, paprika natural color )http://www.templeofthai.com/fo... and Nam Prik Pao (Roasted Chili Paste) from Nittaya brand(Chilli, garlic, shallot, sugar, oil, salt, dry shrimp, tamarind and shrimp paste )http://www.templeofthai.com/fo...

• Reply •

Megandog • a year ago

I was in Telluride CO recently and went to a Thai restaurant called Siam's, I had their LemongrassSeafood Bisque which was out of this world delicious, thick and velvety texture and the flavors wereintense. I want to make it at home and was looking at your recipes they do not appear to be as thickand velvety in texture any suggestions?

Fredi • 3 years ago

Thank you for this recipe! I just made it tonight, and it turned out fantastic! Better even than therestaurant. The only thing I didn't have was the nam prik pao (I subbed Indonesian sambal oeleck), but

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• Reply •

restaurant. The only thing I didn't have was the nam prik pao (I subbed Indonesian sambal oeleck), butit still turned out great. I have given up on the Thai restaurants in my area and will use your recipe fromnow on! Thank you again!

• Reply •

LIV • 3 years ago

tom yum goong is lovely i really love it i make it every second tuesday for when my parents come andhave dinner. i love it. thank you for spicing up my life. mmmmmmhhhhmmmm

• Reply •

Luis • 3 years ago

Please provide addresses of Thai stores here in Metro Manila to buy the ingredients for cooking thaifoods.

• Reply •

Temple of Thai • 3 years agoMod > Luis

Sorry but we do not have a physical store. We are located in Los angeles, USA and we do shipsome items outside of America, please see: http://www.templeofthai.com/st...

• Reply •

Sheila Syed • 3 years ago

hi! each time I have had Tom Yum soups in a restaurant I have found it is difficult to take a spoonfulwithout getting pieces of lemongrass stalks in my mouth since they are not removed by the chef aftercooking and find it uncomfortable and messy removing them from my mouth as they are dry andcannot be chewed along with the rest of the ingredients. Do you recommend the stalks being removedbefore serving or what is the authentic Thai recipe? thanks

• Reply •

Temple of Thai • 3 years agoMod > Sheila Syed

You can certainly remove them, it is up to the cook. In Thailand they are generally left in but thatdoes not mean you have to do so!

• Reply •

Doc • 4 years ago

Your recipe brought me back to a wonderful visit to Chiang Mai over twenty years ago! The freshnessof the ngredients (especially the fresh Kaffir Lime Leaves ) really made the difference. Best Tom YumGoong I have had outside of Thailand! Thank you

• Reply •

Melanieleesm • 4 years ago

is tomyam poktek and tomyam goong is the same?

• Reply •

Temple of Thai • 4 years agoMod > Melanieleesm

Pok tek is translated as 'fishersman's trap' so that type of Tom Yum has many types ofseafood, instead of just shrimp (as in Tom Yum Goong). You can easily substitute other typesof fish for the shrimp or use a combination. Thanks for asking.

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• Reply •

Kurt • 4 years ago

Thank you for the nice recipie......i loved it.

H.K • 4 years ago

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• Reply •

I think it was very good,but i added some coconutmilk,so i get the right thickness of the soup!I love real Thaifood,not westerninfluated!Thanks for good recipie. H.K

• Reply •

Agata • 5 years ago

I am going to be trying out this recipe tonight! :) I am determined to get it right! Love thai cooking, LOVEIT! One question though ­ if I am buying a "chili paste" but it doesn't say "roasted" but it it does contain allthe ingredients, should I fry it for a second to achieve the roasting effect?

• Reply •

Temple of Thai • 5 years agoMod > Agata

There are so many variations on the name for "nam prik pao" it is indeed rather confusing, but ifyour paste is from Thailand then most likely it is "roasted chili paste", and is made up of roastedspices and herbs. Thai Roasted chili paste is a lovely dark red color sometimes with the oilseparated out on top. This is actually an interesting question, because when cooking withRoasted chili paste, indeed it is not necessary to fry it first, unlike the usual procedure for Thaicurry pastes which are sometimes made up of a combination of roasted and not roastedingredients and therefore the preferred method of cooking is to fry it first before adding the otheringredients. Good luck and we hope you will share with us how it turns out.

• Reply •

Les • 5 years ago

I wish they would put the food values with the recipe. Any idea what they are?

• Reply •

Temple of Thai • 5 years agoMod > Les

Thanks for your comment Les. We actually tried to generate the nutritional values using theUSDA's website, but unfortunately Thai spices and herbs values are not provided. This is oneof the healthiest Thai dishes and is recommended for the treatment of colds and flus. It is alsolow in calories and fat. Many of the same ingredients found in Thai curry paste are also used inTom Yum Soup ­ we have some details about the health benefits of the various spices here:www.templeofthai.com/cooking/h...

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• Reply •

DW • 5 years ago

Hi,

You say tom yum is clear, but I had a delicious sour soup with shrimp in Bangkok that was red in color.I thought it was tom soup, but was I mistaken? Would love to replicate it at home (I am still dreaming ofthe one at the Rosabieng restaurant!)

Thanks!

Temple of Thai • 5 years agoMod > DW

Hi DW, Thanks for your question. Yes it sounds like another version of Tom Yum ­ this typehas the addition of a tablespoon of Chili Paste in Oil (nam prik pao) and is known as Tom YumNam Kun. We are planing to add a recipe for this version shortly! In the meantime check outThai Food Tonight's video recipe here: http://su.pr/2lV3n1and for more details about Chili Paste in Oil see: http://templeofthai.com/UByZ If you make the soup please share a picture of it on our Facebook page if you have time. Wehave not visited Rosabieng but it looks like we better check it out next time we are in Bangkok,

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• Reply •

have not visited Rosabieng but it looks like we better check it out next time we are in Bangkok,thank you for the tip. Hope your recipe turns out!

• Reply •

camellia • 4 years ago> Temple of Thai

hi! how many servings is this recipe for? thanks! 1

• Reply •

Temple of Thai • 4 years agoMod > camellia

Hi Camellia, this dish will serve 3­4 people as part of Thai meal whenaccompanied with Jasmine rice and one or two other Thai dishes.

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