Tom Yum Goong (hot and sour lemongrass shrimp soup)
World-famous Thai soup infused with lemongrass, galangal and makrut lime leaves. It's spicy and sour and bursting with flavour - not to mention it's super easy to make!
Ingredients
- 4 cups shrimp stock (recipe below) or unsalted chicken stock
- 12 medium sized shrimp, head-on, shell-on if making shrimp stock
- 2 stalks lemongrass, bottom half only, smashed until broken and cut in 2 inch pieces (see note 1)
- 6 makrut lime leaves
- 8 slices galangal
- 2-5 Thai chilies, to taste, smashed until broken and cut in large pieces
- 3 cups oyster mushroom, tear large ones into bite-sized pieces
- ¼ cup Thai chili paste, (see note 2)
- 3 tablespoon fish sauce
- ½ cup fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Chopped cilantro for garnish
- Jasmine rice for serving
For the shrimp stock
- Shrimp shells and heads from at least 12 shrimp
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- 4 ¼ cups water
- ¼ cup chopped onion, optional
Notes
- Galangal, lemongrass and makrut lime leaves are traditionally left in the soup as garnish, but they are very tough in large pieces and 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, before adding the mushrooms.
- Thai chili paste or nam prik pao is a dark red, oily paste that is sweet and savoury. Do not confuse this with tom yum paste, which is an instant soup paste and cannot be used in this recipe.
Instructions
For the Shrimp Stock (if making)
- Place the shrimp heads and shells into a stainless steel pot along with the oil and the onion, if using. Saute over medium high heat, pressing out any tomalley from the shrimp heads with your spatula.Shrimp shells and heads from at least 12 shrimp, 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- Once the bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pot start to brown and smell wonderfully like grilled shrimp, deglaze with the water and scrape all the bits off the bottom of the pot. Bring to a simmer, then simmer for 5 minutes. Strain, making sure to get out any liquid from inside the shrimp heads.4 ¼ cups water, ¼ cup chopped onion
For the Tom Yum Soup
- Add the shrimp or chicken stock, lemongrass, galangal and chilies to the pot. Grab the lime leaves and twist them with your hands to bruise, then tear them into chunks and add to the pot. Bring to a simmer, and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.Note: 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.4 cups shrimp stock (recipe below) or unsalted chicken stock, 2 stalks lemongrass, 6 makrut lime leaves, 8 slices galangal, 2-5 Thai chilies
- When the soup is done simmering, add the oyster mushrooms and let them simmer for about 2 minutes.3 cups oyster mushroom
- Turn the heat up to bring the soup to a boil, then add the shrimp and stir them into the soup. When the soup starts to bubble again, turn off the heat and let the residual heat cook the shrimp completely; another minute or so. (If you're using very large shrimp, you may need to cook it longer).12 medium sized shrimp
- Add the lime juice, fish sauce, chili paste, and sugar; stir to dissolve. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. It should lead with sour, but have enough sweetness to balance.2-5 Thai chilies, 3 tablespoon fish sauce, ½ cup fresh lime juice, 1 teaspoon sugar, ¼ cup Thai chili paste
- Garnish with 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. See this post on Thai dining etiquette where I go through how to eat a Thai meal like a Thai!Chopped cilantro for garnish, Jasmine rice for serving
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