Tom Yum Soup (Thai Hot and Sour Soup)
This is a Thai classic and one of my favourite hotpot bases! You can easily have it on its own as a starter or as a side dish with rice.
Ingredients
Soup Base
- 1 litre water
- vegetable oil, any neutral oil
- 500g prawns, cleaned, deshelled (keep the shell), deveined OR tofu (vegetarian)
- 2 stalks lemongrass
- 4-5 kaffir lime leaves
- 2 slices galangal
- 2-3 fresh chilli, adjust according to spice level, start with 2
Soup seasoning
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp thai chilli paste (nam prik pao), add more if you enjoy the heat
- 1-2 limes, to taste and garnish
Vegetables
- 1 cup mushrooms, button, cut into quarters
- 1 brown onion, sliced
- 1-2 tomatoes, cut into bite size
- 1 cup baby corn, cut into bite size
- coriander, coarsely chopped for garnish
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, add a dash of oil and shrimp head shells to pan. Sauté for 5-7 minutes if frozen, until brown bits start to stick to the bottom and juices are released (make sure you use the spoon to push the prawn heads). Skip this step if vegetarian.
- Add lemongrass, galangal, chilli and kaffir lime leaves, then simmer for 5-10 minutes to infuse.
- Add mushrooms, tomatoes, corn, white onion and prawn (or tofu), and cook until the shrimp is pink and opaque, or until the tofu is heated through.
- Stir in fish sauce, chili paste, sugar, lime and fresh chilies to taste.
- Ladle into bowls, then top with fresh coriander and squeeze of lime (omit if sour enough).