Tom yum goong is, without question, Thailand's most famous soup. But few people know that we actually have 2 slightly different versions - clear and creamy broth. The clear broth tom yum is typically what's served in restaurants overseas, but many Thai people, myself included, actually prefer the richness of the creamy version. And as you'll see in this recipe, it's just as easy!
Tom Yum Soup: Clear vs Creamy
First, you must know that "tom yum" ต้มยำ is a category of Thai hot and sour soups that are flavoured with the trinity of herbs: lemongrass, makrut lime leaves, and galangal. You can make tom yum with just about any protein, such as tom yum chicken and tom yum fish.
The most famous, and perhaps the "original flavour" of tom yum, is made with shrimp and is called tom yum goong. And while the classic version is a nam sai (clear broth) soup, modern day Thais have come up with a "creamy" or nam kon variation that contains evaporated milk to add richness and body to an otherwise very light broth. And creamy tom yum became VERY popular...because it is so delicious.
So while I understand that you might want to make the "traditional" version, I encourage you to give this creamy tom yum a try because it is actually one I prefer! And don't worry, if you can't do dairy, there is an equally delicious alternative.
Ingredients and Notes
Here are all the ingredients you'll need for creamy tom yum and important notes about them. Amounts will be in the recipe card below!
- Medium sized shrimp, shell-on, head-on if possible as we can then use the heads and shells to make a shrimp stock for the soup base.
- Water or unsalted chicken stock. If you're making the shrimp stock using shrimp shells and heads, you can use water for this. But if you don't have shrimp shells, you will want to use a good unsalted chicken stock as a base. This is very important because using only water as your liquid will result in a weak flavoured soup.
- Lemongrass. You will only need to use the bottom half of the stalk, and while fresh is great, frozen is also fine. Dried is not ideal but usable; do not use powdered lemongrass. Read more about lemongrass here.
- Galangal. This is a rhizome that looks similar to ginger but has a totally different flavour. Do not use ginger instead! You can find galangal fresh or frozen. If you galangal comes frozen in a large piece, don't let the whole thing thaw as it will turn mushy; let it thaw for 10 minutes or so just until it's soft enough to slice, then slice what you need and put the rest back in the freezer. Read more about galangal here.
- Makrut lime leaves. These are the aromatic leaves of makrut (aka kaffir) lime trees and have a citrusy, slightly grassy aroma. Fresh or frozen work great, but if you only have dried, add a bit more than the recipe calls for. You cannot substitute other kinds of citrus leaves instead. Read more about makrut lime leaves here.
- Thai chilies, to taste. You can make this soup as spicy as you want. If not sure, start with 1 chili, and you can add more later.
- Evaporated milk. This is the ingredient that makes it creamy! Note that we want UNSWEETENED evaporated milk and not condensed milk. If not available, you can also add half and half. If you can't do dairy, use full fat coconut milk instead.
- Oyster mushrooms, straw mushrooms, or shimeji mushrooms.
- Thai chili paste (nam prik pao). This is a key flavour in tom yum goong (tom yum with shrimp). If you can't find it in stores, you can order it online, or make it at home using my homemade Thai chili paste recipe. It will be worth the effort to make it; you will want to put it on everything once you made it!
- Fish sauce. This is our main salting agent. Read more about how to choose good quality fish sauce here.
- Fresh lime juice. The stress is on fresh, please. It's a major flavour of the soup so no bottled lime juice for this!
- Chopped sawtooth coriander (culantro) or cilantro. If you don't like cilantro, green onions will do.
- Jasmine rice for serving. We eat tom yum with rice as part of a family style Thai meal, but you can also simply add some rice to the soup and turn it into a rice soup if you want to make it a one-dish-meal. You can also add rice noodles to the soup instead. See also: Thai Dining Etiquette - How to Eat a Family Style Thai Meal.
Step-By-Step
Here's a bird's eye view of the process. If it's your first time I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success
- If making shrimp stock, place shrimp shells and heads in a pot and saute until they are fully cooked, pressing the heads to push out the tomalley as you go.
- Once the stuff that sticks to the pot starts to brown and smell wonderful, add water and scrape the bottom. Bring to a simmer, and let it cook for 5 minutes. Fish out the shells and discard.
- Add the tom yum herbs and the chilies to the broth; simmer for 5 minutes.
- Fish out some or all of the herbs to make it easier to eat, as the herbs are not meant to be eaten. I like to leave some in for garnish.
- Add the evaporated milk.
- Add the mushrooms.
- Add fish sauce and Thai chili paste. Stir to dissolve the chili paste and bring to a simmer; cook for about 1-2 minutes until the mushrooms are done.
- Add the shrimp and cook for another minute or just until they are done. Turn off the heat.
- Allow the soup to stop simmering completely after you turn off the heat, then add lime juice while stirring, this will minimize curdling of milk.
- Stir in the sawtooth coriander or cilantro.
- Serve and enjoy!
Watch The Video Tutorial!
All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success. You can also watch the video on my YouTube channel.
Storage and Reheating
It is best to serve tom yum to day you make it as the lime juice in the soup tastes the best on the day. If you want to do some prep ahead of time, the shrimp stock can be made in advance and refrigerated or even frozen.
Any leftovers will last in the fridge for up to a week. When reheating, be careful not to overcook the shrimp and the lime juice. I would microwave it in short spurts, stirring in between, to promote even heating and prevent accidental overheating. Get it just hot enough for you to enjoy and don't let it boil.
Save this recipe!
We can email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Recipe
Print
Thai Tom Yum Soup with Shrimp (Creamy Style)
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Cuisine: Thai
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
A creamy version of the popular Thai tom yum soup! An iconic hot and sour soup infused with Thai herbs and seasoned with lime. The broth is enriched with evaporated milk for extra body, making this my preferred tom yum. Easy and quick to make, and great with rice or noodles!
Ingredients
Save this recipe!
We can email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
- 350 g medium sized shrimp, shell-on, head-on if possible
- 4 cups (960 ml) water (or use 3½ cups (840 ml) unsalted chicken stock if not using shell on shrimp)
- 2 stalks lemongrass, bottom half only (see note)
- 10 slices of galangal, cut into thin rounds
- 6 makrut lime leaves
- 1-3 Thai chilies, or to taste
- ½ cup (120 ml) evaporated milk (unsweetened) or full-fat coconut milk
- 3-4 cups oyster mushrooms, straw mushrooms, or another Asian mushroom
- ¼ cup (60 ml) Thai chili paste (nam prik pao)
- 3 Tbsp (45 ml) fish sauce
- ¼ cup (60 ml) lime juice
- A big handful of chopped sawtooth coriander (culantro) or cilantro
- Jasmine rice for serving
Instructions
- Rinse shrimp well, then peel and devein them (see video for a cool deveining trick!) and place all heads and shells into a stock pot. Put the pot over medium high heat and saute the shrimp shells until stuff that sticks to the pot starts to brown slightly. It should smell like shrimp on the grill!
- Add water, scrape off the browned bits that are stuck to the pot, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer, and let it cook for 5 minutes. Then, use a slotted skimmer to remove the shells, making sure to drain off as much of the liquid as you can.
- If using chicken stock, start from here: Smash lemongrass and cut into chunks. Roughly tear the kaffir lime leaves. Finely chop the chilies or pound in a mortar and pestle into a paste.
- Bring the stock to a simmer, then add lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime leaves and chilies (if you pounded the chilies, rinse the mortar with some of the stock to make sure you get all the chili bits into the pot). Simmer for 5 minutes.
Note: The herbs are not meant to be eaten, so at this point you can either fish them out, but I like to leave some in there for garnish. Just be sure to tell your guests not to eat them! - Add the evaporated milk, fish sauce and chili paste and bring to boil, stirring to dissolve the chili paste. Add the mushrooms and cook for 1-2 minutes or until mushrooms are done.
- Add the shrimp and cook just until done, 30 seconds to a minute depending on the size. Turn off the heat.
- Let the soup cool down slightly, until all bubbling has stopped, then add lime juice while stirring (this will minimize curdling.) Stir in sawtooth coriander or cilantro, then taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- To serve, you can pour the soup over rice, add rice to the soup bowl, or have the soup on the side as part of a meal. Enjoy!
Notes
I save the top half of lemongrass to use in stock or tea, but if you don't want to save it for anything, you can just throw them into the soup.
Tony Kemp says
I made the nam prik pao (using your recipe, which I also recommend) then made the tom yum goong as above. I used frozen prawns and rehydrated mixed mushrooms.
What a dish! Easy, fast and super tasty.
Hussain A Nalwala says
Hi....
I read your Tom Yom recipe and then saw your video a few times. Then I tried it our exactly the same way you have explained. It turned out perfectly well. Much better then what we get in the restaurants here in Dubai. Thank you for sharing it with us.
William says
Wicked. So tasty...I could go on and on.
Shz says
my bro challenged me to make creamy tom yum soup and i found your recipe. He was skeptical when he saw me cooking this coz I don't cook well. Results: He can't believe this taste so good. Now this and Tom Kha Gai is my go-to recipe whenever we want soup.
Uncle Daybid says
As good as the ones I’d had from the restaurants around me. You can’t go wrong with her recipes! I’ve made 3 dishes and they’ve all been great.
Luke says
Hi, Can you possibly create a dumbed down western version recipe using the Knor Tom Yum bullion cubes and/or Tom Yum paste? Many of the traditional ingredients are impossible to find outside big city Asian markets. These cubes and pastes can be ordered on Amazon. Ingredients like galangal, lemongrass, kafir lime leaves etc not available outside big city markets. It's two hour drive to nearest Asian market that stocks these ingredients. I visited Thailand many times and love Tom Yum. In Pattaya most restaurants use coconut milk not evaporated milk. Thanks
Pailin Chongchitnant says
Request noted!
luke says
Hi. I know about the Knorr Tom Yum cubes and Tom Yum Pastes because I seen them in Big C market Pattaya. My Thai friends buy them to make Tom Yum. I just don't know how they substitute or if in place of traditional ingredients like galangal, lemon grass, and kafir lime leaves? It seems to me these flavorings are some sort of substitutes? If yes it would be great if you could make a dumbed down recipe for us that don't have access to fresh ingredients. I'm sure not as good as real herbs just an alternative. Thanks
Pailin Chongchitnant says
Hi! Those are instant broth cubes/pastes, so you just add water and meat and veg, just like instant noodles. There will be instructions on the back of the package for ratios that you can follow.
LP says
Could you please tell me if it's regular evaporated milk or the 2% version?
Thanks
Heather says
I’ve been making this for several years and I never thought to make a review. First thing I’ll mention is the importance of getting shrimp with all its armor and head intact. That orange goo in the head is what makes this dish. I also love the store bought nam prik pao, but one day I will push myself to make the homemade recipe suggested, but haven’t yet. This soup is a staple in my home. We go to the Vietnamese market (IN INDIANA!) on Friday afternoon when they get their truck and we are able to get the fresh galangal, lemongrass, makrut lime leaves, Thai chilis, oyster mushrooms and whole shrimp. The rest are staples in our home. I have never changed the recipe or strayed from the technique and it is better than any restaurant Tom Yum Goong or simple Tom Yum. Thanks for sharing!
Lyle says
When I was living in Nakhon si Thammarat we often found fresh tomatoes, white onion and I think even spring onion (green onion) in our Tom Yum Goong. Is that a different recipe or just a preference of the chef? Also I have found straw mushrooms canned at my local Asian market, would they be better than fresh oyster mushrooms or would you only use oyster or both? Thanks!
Lina says
LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!
However did anyone experience sever curdling when adding the evaporated milk?
Junaidi says
Her video should have the answer to your question
Shir says
hi!
how would it be to add coconut milk instead of the evaporated milk?
thanks
Shir
Junaidi says
No harm, but it wont taste the same. Theres another similar dish, that uses coconut milk instead.
Nez Wright says
So so so so good!
I didn't put in the evaporated milk as I'm allergic to dairy but it tasted I credible. Plopped my rice in the middle
Sabrina Haq says
This is the easiest recipie to follow and taste amazing. It is way better than any tom yum soup I had at a thai restaurant. It taste like the authentic version found on the streets of Thailand!!
Stephen Chan says
There are many types of Tom Yum soups, but Goong is always the most popular. Making it at home is like a barbecue party, as the grilling shrimp will perfume you kitchen or even your entire home. And the creamy texture? So mouth watering!
Alistair Clapp says
Absolutely superb - I couldn't source fresh galangal but found a pot of galangal paste at a local supermarket - 1 tsp was enough to get the right balance 🙂
Luke Parlor says
What can I say, other than since I first made this for my wife earlier this year, it has been requested again and again and again. It is incredibly delicious, so rich, creamy and packed full of flavour. Its a winner.