Tom Yum Goong (tom yum soup with shrimp) might be the most famous version of this Thai hot and sour soup, but the chicken version is just as delicious and I find it is actually more comforting. There's a little more to it than simply substituting chicken for shrimp, as Thai people have figured out the best flavour pairings for these two different proteins.
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Tom yum is a brothy, spicy and sour soup, infused with the classic Thai herbs: lemongrass, galangal and makrut (kaffir lime leaves). We make all kinds of tom yum in Thailand, so if you're wanting to explore, also check out my tom yum soup with fish, and a vegetarian tom yum soup!
Got ingredients leftover? You must make this easy tom kha gai recipe. It has uses all the same herbs, but is milder and creamier with the addition of coconut milk. If you love tom yum, I know you will also love tom kha gai.
For a Thai soup that doesn't use any hard-to-find ingredients, try this chicken potato soup that is super comforting and was a staple in my family in Thailand!
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Ingredients
Here are all the ingredients you'll need to make this recipe. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.
- Chicken stock, unsalted. While it is okay to use store bought stock for an easy meal, for the best Thai flavour I recommend making a batch of homemade Thai style chicken stock, or at least a plain stock that doesn't have distinct flavours of Western herbs.
- Chicken thigh, boneless skinless, cut in 1-inch pieces
- Fish sauce. See this post for how to choose good fish sauce
- Dried spicy chilies, any small dried chilies such as arbol chilies or the kind you find at Chinese grocery stores are fine. (Or substitute fresh chilies)
- Shallots, cut in half vertically.
- Lemongrass, bottom half only. Smash the stalk until broken then cut into 1-2 inch pieces.
- Galangal, thinly slice into rounds.
- Makrut lime leaves, previously known as kaffir lime leaves
- Tamarind paste, you can use store bought Thai tamarind paste which is often labeled as "tamarind concentrate". It should be a brown colour with a pourable consistency. Better yet, you can make it yourself using tamarind pulp, use my homemade tamarind paste recipe here.
- Oyster mushrooms, straw mushrooms or shimeji mushrooms.
- Cherry tomatoes, halved, or regular tomatoes cut into wedges
- Fresh lime juice (how much you need depends on the acidity of your tamarind)
- Sugar (you may or may not need this)
- Cilantro and or sawtooth coriander. If you're not a fan, green onions will be fine.
How to Make Tom Yum Chicken
Here are all the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success.
- Bring the stock to a simmer in a medium pot. Then add the chicken, 2 tablespoon fish sauce, and simmer for 15 minutes until the chicken is fork tender.
- Meanwhile, place the dried chilies on a sheet pan and, without preheating, broil them on LOW in the oven on the top rack. Keep a close eye on the chilies, this should take just a minute or so once the elements are heated. When the chilies puff up and start to char in a few spots, remove from heat and add them directly to the stock pot. If you want a spicier soup, break the chilies in half before adding.
- Turn the broiler up to HIGH and broil the shallots, cut side up, until the edges are charred, about 3-5 minutes. Add them to the stock pot.
- Once chicken is tender, add the lemongrass and galangal slices. Then use your hands to grab and twist the makrut lime leaves to bruise them, and add them to the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes to infuse.
- Add 2 tablespoon of the tamarind paste, mushrooms and tomatoes; bring the soup back to a boil.
- Once the soup comes back to a boil, turn off the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons of the lime juice. Taste and adjust seasoning with the remaining tamarind, lime juice and fish sauce as needed. If the soup feels a little too tart or too sharp, add a teaspoon of sugar which will help balance the salt and the acid.
- Stir in cilantro and sawtooth coriander just before serving. Serve with jasmine rice.
Recipe
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Authentic Thai Tom Yum Soup with Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Description
Tom yum soup is famous the world over. Healthy, spicy, and aromatic with lots of herbs. This recipe is with chicken which is more comforting than the shrimp version. It's a quick soup you can make on a weeknight!
Ingredients
- 4 cups (960 ml) unsalted chicken stock
- 10.5 oz (350 g) boneless skinless chicken thigh, 1-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoon (45 ml) fish sauce
- 3-4 dried chilies (or substitute fresh Thai chilies)
- 2 heads shallots, halved vertically
- 2 stalks lemongrass, bottom half only
- 5-6 thin slices galangal
- 5-6 makrut lime leaves
- 2 tablespoon tamarind paste, store bought or homemade
- 7 oz (200 g) oyster mushrooms, straw mushrooms or beech mushrooms
- 1 cup (130 g) halved cherry tomatoes, or regular tomatoes cut into wedges
- 2-3 tablespoon (30-45 ml) lime juice (how much you need depends on the acidity of your tamarind)
- ½-1 teaspoon sugar (you may or may not need this)
- ¼ cup cilantro and/or 3-4 leaves sawtooth coriander (optional)
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Instructions
- Bring the stock to a simmer in a medium pot. Then add the chicken, 2 tablespoon fish sauce, and simmer for 15 minutes until the chicken is fork tender.
- Meanwhile, place the dried chilies on a sheet pan and, without preheating, broil them on LOW in the oven on the top rack. Keep a close eye on the chilies, this should take just a minute or so once the elements are heated. When the chilies puff up and start to char in a few spots, remove from heat and add them directly to the stock pot. If you want a spicier soup, break the chilies in half before adding. If using fresh chilies, simply finely chop and add to the soup now. (See note)
- Turn the broiler up to HIGH and broil the shallots, cut side up, until the edges are charred, about 3-5 minutes. Add them to the stock pot.
- Prep the lemongrass by smashing the bottom half of the stalk with the back of your knife until the stalk breaks. Then cut off the top half and discard or save it for stock. Cut the bottom half into 2-3 inch pieces.
- Once chicken is tender, add the lemongrass and galangal slices. Then use your hands to grab and twist the makrut lime leaves to bruise them, and add them to the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes to infuse.
- Add 2 tablespoon of the tamarind paste, mushrooms and tomatoes; bring the soup back to a boil.
- Once the soup comes back to a boil, turn off the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons of the lime juice. Taste and adjust seasoning with the remaining tamarind, lime juice and fish sauce as needed. If the soup feels a little too tart or too sharp, add a teaspoon of sugar which will help balance the salt and the acid.
- Stir in cilantro and sawtooth coriander just before serving. Serve with jasmine rice.
Notes
The broiling of chillies and shallots are done to add a little smokiness to the soup. You can skip it to simplify things.
Sarah N. Davis says
Finally found a good tom yum recipe. The Tamarind paste is essential. No need to put in garlic like other recipes. White rice on the side is helpful. Thank you!
Tina G says
LOVED this recipe. It's currently 11 pm here and I was having some serious Tom Yum craving. My mom is from Thailand and she never taught me her recipes. Besides the shallot (I ran out), I followed the recipe. I didn't measure anything and it came out SO good. So authentic. Thank you
Anne-Marie Wilcox says
Incredible recipe! We couldn’t find the tamarind, so we subbed equal parts brown sugar and rice vinegar. Perfect for the Winter!!
arianna says
Yeah I second the commenter who said Pai Lin is a great cook. I had ZERO knowledge of cooking at all years ago, and I essentially learned from Pai Lin's youtube videos how to make some Thai meals. They always come out really good and people love my Thai cooking!!!
Ernest says
I've watched a bunch of her videos and she is a really good, really authentic cook, and she gets broth better than most. The chicken broth and soup for tom yum gai is awesome. When she talks about "short cut" chicken broth by using chicken drumettes or little wing pieces, that's when I knew she really knows chicken broth. She doesn't cook with sugar much, if at all, and the balance of salty (fish sauce), aromatic (lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves), sour (tamarind) and spicy (this is perhaps her best advice) is perfect.
John says
The wife has me making this every weekend. Seriously, I do the cooking...unless she is making her Filipina food..I digress.
This is a sensational recipe. I don't do the sugar, the wife and daughter like it a little more "tangy" than sweet. I add just a tad bit more water and add a couple of 2 min baskets of egg noodle on the bottom of the bowl, I pour the soup over the noodles...by the time the bowls hit the table the noodles are perfect.
This food is incredible when you are sick. I will substitute some shrimp once in a while. Just remember unfrozen shrimp takes minutes to cook. This eliminates about 30 minutes of cooking time.
God Bless and keep the recipes coming
Adrian says
My local Thai Kitchen does this soup with a little bit of coconut (?) milk and it was my favorite, until today. now this is my favorite. tthe ccharred shalotts, and the tamarind were just perfect additions
Thank You!
Ann says
Delicious! I did not add sugar and it was perfect-
I did have some big chunks of lemongrass in the bowls I served...was I supposed to fish this out prior to serving?
Thanks! Great recipe and so quick!
Ann
Jaye says
No, the diner is to remove 3 flavorings; lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and
galangal (which looks like a slice of a tree limb). Some servings may not contain the last two items.
Holly Salley says
I made this again today and it is so delicious. Everything I have ever made from Hot Thai Kitchen has been delicious. I this is no exception.
Luke Parlor says
I loved this dish. It reminded me so much of the Tom Yum that I had in northern Thailand, nearly 10 years ago. It was that dish that made me really appreciate how good a Tom Yum could be, unlike so many westernised versions. This one bough back those memories.
SG says
Great and simple Tom Yum, definitely a hit at our house. Used fresh chilies and shiitake mushrooms instead since we can't find the others easily and still turned out wonderfully. A tip would be to add the lemongrass and galangal in teabags or keep a strainer them them in the soup - it makes them very easy to fish out!