Let’s bring rich, authentic Thai flavors straight to your home with this quick and easy Tom Yum soup recipe. This Thai soup is made with lime juice, lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves, Thai bird’s eye chilies, fish sauce, Thai chili paste, mushrooms, and shrimp for a perfect balance of spicy, sour, and savory flavors.

This incredibly flavorful and comforting tom yum is surprisingly easy to make at home. This soup comes together in under 30 minutes, making it a quick and cozy weeknight dinner.

Ingredients

You can find all the ingredients for tom yum soup recipe at your local Asian or Thai market. Full measurements and links to everything I used are in the recipe card below.

Broth

• Head-on Shrimp: The shells and head of the shrimp create a rich, savory broth, and the shrimp are the main protein.
• Low Sodium Chicken Stock: adds a comforting base to the Thai soup.
• Garlic: one of the main aromatics.
• Thai Birds Eye Chili: a tiny red pepper that is incredibly spicy. Adjust the amount to your preference or remove the seeds for less spice.
• Lemongrass: adds a bright citrusy, grassy flavor.
• Galangal: is similar to ginger but has a sharper, peppery flavor.
• Makrut Lime Leaves: or Keffir lime leaves add a strong lime aroma.

Soup Add-Ins

• Oyster Mushrooms: for added texture and flavor.
• Onion: adds a sweet aromatic flavor.
• Roma Tomato: is not a traditional ingredient but adds more sweetness and flavors to the broth.
• Thai Chili Paste (Nam Prik Pao): adds a slightly smoky, spicy, depth.
• Sugar: to balance and sweeten the other flavors.
• Fish Sauce: adds a salty, umami layer.
• Lime Juice: adds the fresh sour acidity to the tom yum goong.

Substitutions and Additions

Substitutions

• Protein: chicken, seafood mix, or tofu
• Ginger: an alternative to galangal
• Water: instead of chicken stock.

Additions

• Daikon: to sweeten the broth, add a 1/4 cup of daikon in your broth.
• Noodles: add in some rice noodles or your noodles of your choice for a tom yum noodle soup.
• Vegetables: shimeji mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, straw mushrooms, baby corn, red bell peppers, etc.
• Evaporated milk: for the creamy version.

How to Make Tom Yum Soup

1. Peel and devein shrimp and remove the heads. Separate the shrimp from the head and shells.

2. Using a meat mallet, smash the garlic, Thai chili and lemongrass.

3. In a large pot, add the shrimp heads and shells, garlic, Thai chili, lemongrass and galangal. Tear the lime leaves and add into the pot. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer on high heat. Then lower the heat to medium low and cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Then strain the broth and discard.

4. Place the broth back into a pot over medium heat. Add onions and mushrooms and simmer for 2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes and prawns and simmer for 2 minutes.

5. Add the Thai chili paste, fish sauce and sugar and mix to combine. Then add the lime juice.
6. Serve with chopped cilantro and white rice and enjoy!

Storage Instructions

You can store any leftover Thai soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.

Reheat: heat the soup in a small pot covered over medium heat until hot.

Freeze: Store the cooled soup in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat and serve.

FAQ

What are the differences between the clear broth and the creamy version?

This recipe is the classic Tom yum Goong Nam Sai soup with a clear broth, and the creamy version, called Tom Yum Goong Nam Khon, is made by adding evaporated milk.

What is the difference between Tom Yum and Tom Kha?

Tom kha uses a splash of coconut milk instead of evaporated milk. You can find my Tom Kha Gai (Thai coconut chicken soup) here.

What can I add to my Thai soup?

You can use any protein like chicken, fish, or shrimp, and your pick of mushrooms.

Recipe