Tom Yum Soup
Once your ingredients are assembled, this soup is a breeze to make. It can be easily adapted for vegetarians by substituting vegetable stock and tofu for shrimp stock and shrimp. Pink Salt Kitchen makes a vegan Thai chili paste that is a delicious substitute for regular paste. Add more vegetables if you like. Serves 4
Ingredients
- 4 cups shrimp stock or unsalted chicken stock
- 12-15 medium or large shrimp, head-on, shell-on if making shrimp stock
- 2 stalks lemongrass, bottom half only, smashed until broken and cut in 2 inch pieces
- 6 makrut lime leaves, formerly named Kaffir
- 8 slices galangal
- 2-5 Thai chilies, to taste, pounded into a rough paste or finely minced
- 7 ounces white mushrooms, sliced thinly
- ¼ cup Thai chili paste (Nam Prik Pao), NOT sweet chile paste, see note
- 3 tablespoon fish sauce
- ½ cup fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- Chopped cilantro for garnish
- Jasmine rice for serving
Directions
1. Add the stock, lemongrass, galangal, chilies and mushrooms to large pot.
2. Grab the lime leaves and twist them with your hands to bruise, then tear them into chunks, discarding the center ribs, and add to the pot. Bring to a simmer, and simmer for about 5 minutes.
3. Turn the heat up to bring the soup to a boil. Place the Thai Chili paste into a small bowl. Ladle a little bit of the broth into the Thai chili paste and stir to loosen it so it will dissolve more easily into the soup; pour it into the soup.
4. Add the fish sauce and the shrimp to the pot. Cook the shrimp until they’re halfway done, 30-50 seconds depending on the size, then turn off the heat and let the residual heat cook the shrimp completely; another minute or so.
5. Add the lime juice and taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. It should lead with sour but have enough sweetness to balance. If it tastes too sour, add the sugar.
6. Stir in the cilantro leaves and serve with jasmine rice. You can serve the rice on the side or put the rice in the soup if that’s what you prefer.
Note#1: The galangal, lemongrass and makrut lime leaves are traditionally left in the soup as garnish but are not meant to be eaten. Make sure you let your guests know not to eat the herbs or remove them after they’re done infusing.
Note#2: Thai chili paste or nam prik pao is a dark red, oily paste that is sweet and savory. Do not confuse it with the sweet Thai chili dipping sauce. You may also find tom yum paste, which is an instant soup paste and cannot be used in this recipe.
Nam Prik Pao may be purchased from Pink Salt Kitchens.