Tom Yum Goong is a classic spicy and sour Thai soup with prawns. The juicy prawns are cooked in an aromatic broth of herbs, tangy lime juice, and spicy chillies. And, this prawn tom yum recipe is hands down the easiest way to make authentic flavour-packed tom yum soup with prawns at home!
Servings2
Ingredients
- 2 sticks lemongrass
- 3 makrut lime leaves
- ½ onion
- 1 medium-sized tomato
- 2 to 4 small red chillies*
- 5 ounces oyster mushrooms (about 1 cup)
- 2 cups chicken stock*
- 1 cup water or more stock
- 1 tablespoon nam prik pao (Thai chilli paste) , homemade or store-bought
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon palm sugar* (optional)
- salt , to taste
- 8 ounces medium-sized prawn tails (about 1 heaped cup) , peeled and deveined
To Serve (Optional)
- chopped cilantro or Thai basil
- cooked jasmine rice
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Cut the lemongrass at an angle into 2-inch (5-cm) pieces and pound with a heavy object (like a cast iron skillet) to release the flavour. Remove the hard spine of the makrut lime leaves. Cut the ½ onion into 3 wedges and each wedge into 4 chunks. Cut the tomato into 4 wedges and cut each into 3 chunks. Slice the chillies diagonally in half to expose the flesh and seeds. Roughly tear the oyster mushrooms into bite-sized pieces.
- Bring the chicken stock and water to a rapid boil over high heat. Then add the lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and chilli. Boil for 5 minutes.
- Add the Thai chilli paste, oyster mushrooms, onion and tomato. Gently stir and let it boil until the vegetables are soft – about another 2 minutes.
- Season the broth with the fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar. Taste and adjust the balance with more fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, or salt, to taste – I typically add another 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and a ¼ teaspoon of salt.
- Add the raw prawn meat and cook until they turn opaque – start checking for doneness at about 1 minute. Remove from the heat, transfer to a serving bowl, and garnish with cilantro leaves or Thai basil leaves.
- Serve immediately with steamed white jasmine rice and lime wedges.
Notes
- Red chillies: Thai bird's eye chillies are the traditional choice, but you can use any red chilli you prefer. Just adjust the heat to your preference. I use two African bird's eye chillies for a slightly spicy soup, or four if I want it extra hot.
- Chicken stock: You can also use prawn stock (or shrimp stock) made from the prawn heads (or shrimp heads), vegetable stock, or even water. Simply balance your soup with more fish sauce, sugar, or salt.
- Raw sugar: Use any unrefined sugar for a more complex flavour. I typically use palm sugar or jaggery, but Thai raw sugar is amazing if you can find it! And if you don't have any, brown sugar works just fine as well.
- Nam prik pao: This deliciously funky, sweet and spicy Thai chilli paste is also called Thai chilli jam. You can use homemade nam prik pao or a store-bought version. My favourite store-bought Thai chilli paste is Maepranom brand.
- For a creamy tom yum soup: Add half a cup of evaporated milk when you add the fish sauce, and adjust the seasoning to taste.
- For tom kha soup: Add half a cup of coconut milk when you add the fish sauce, and adjust the seasoning to taste.
- Tom yum soup is traditionally served with aromatics left in the broth. However, you don't eat the tough aromatics like lemongrass and lime leaves. So, feel free to remove them before serving.