by Lidya Sin

Created on: October 13, 2009

Tom Yum Soup is Thai signature dish. It is sour, spicy, and refreshing. Tom Yum Soup, or Tom Yum Goong is Thai hot and sour seafood soup. The main ingredient is usually prawn, followed by other seafood such as fish fillet, calamari, and mussels.

There are several ways to cook Tom Yum Soup, from the simple ways with refreshing and subtler flavor to the more flavorful recipe with more spices and herbs, but the basic of the recipe is the same: seafood soup with lemongrass and lime juice. I will give you two recipes, the simple recipe I learned and adapted from Bobby Chin Caf Asia's shows and another more flavorful recipe with thicker soup and more spices.

Simple Original Tom Yum Goong

Ingredients:

1.5L water, or chicken stock or fish stock.

250g raw medium prawns (prawns must be as fresh as possible)

100g white fish fillet, cut into squares.

100g calamari, cut into small pieces

100g mussels

(Note: for the seafood ingredients, you can use only prawns, or prawns mixed with one of the other ingredients.)

2 stalk of lemongrass, bruised

1 tbsp lime juice, you can use lemon juice if it's more available to you.

2 lime leaves or 1 tsp lime rind.

1/2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp chili oil (1/4 tsp for those who don't like spicy food)

tsp Salt, or to taste

cup fresh coriander leaves

Direction:

1.If you use chicken or fish stock, skip this step. If you want to make prawn broth, follow this step: remove the prawn heads and peel the prawns. Devein the prawns. Set the prawns aside. Heat the oil in a large pan and stir fry the shells and the prawnheads for about 7 minutes. Add 500ml water to the pan and boil until slightly reduced. Add the rest of the water and simmer around 20 minutes.

2. Drain and discard the shells and heads. Put the stock back into the pan. If you use chicken broth, you can start at this phase. Add the lemongrass, lime juice, fish sauce, chili oil, and salt. Bring to boil. Add the prawns and seafood. Simmer until the seafood is fully cooked, for about 5 minutes. Do not overcook the seafood! Discard the lemongrass. Serve hot with coriander leaves.

Flavorful Tom Yum Goong

Ingredients:

1.5L water, or chicken stock or fish stock

250g raw medium prawns

100g white fish fillet, cut into squares.

100g calamari, cut into small pieces

100g mussels

50g button mushrooms (optional)

1 tbsp Red curry paste (optional)

3 Thai bay leaves

2 stalks of lemongrass, bruised

2 tbsp tamarind puree

2 cm galangal, sliced thinly

2 cm ginger, sliced thinly.

4 lime leaves, or 1 tsp lime rind.

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp chili oil

1 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

cup coriander leaves.

Direction:

Make the prawn stock as direction above. Add the herbs and seasonings to the stock. Boil for 5 minutes. Add the seafood and mushrooms and cooked for around 5 minutes until fully cooked. Remove the lemongrass. Serve with coriander leaves.

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