Recipe

Tom Yum Goong

4 servings · prep 20 min · cook 25 min

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• lunch
• dinner
• thai

Authored by the maintainer; Bangkok method, clear (tom yum nam sai) — the creamy version (tom yum nam khon) is noted below.

Ingredients

the protein

• 500 g large head-on prawns (or substitute body-on shrimp + extra shells)

the broth

• 4 stalks lemongrass, lower 10 cm only, bruised and cut into 5 cm batons — Ratchaburi aromatic farm
• Thumb-sized piece galangal, sliced into 5 mm coins (or substitute fresh ginger — different flavour, but acceptable) — Ratchaburi aromatic farm
• 8 kaffir lime leaves, torn (not chopped — torn releases more oil) — Ratchaburi aromatic farm
• 4–8 bird's eye chiles, lightly bruised
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed — Tropea allium farm
• 4 small shallots, bruised (left whole)
• Pinch sea salt — Trapani salt pans

the body

• 200 g straw mushrooms, halved (or oyster mushrooms)
• 8 cherry tomatoes, halved (optional)

the seasoning

• 2 tbsp nam prik pao (Thai roasted chili paste)
• 3 tbsp fish sauce — Phú Quốc fish sauce factory
• 1 tsp palm sugar (or light brown sugar)
• 60 ml fresh lime juice (juice of 3 limes)

the finish

• 1 small bunch cilantro, leaves picked

Method

1. Peel and devein the prawns. Reserve heads and shells. Refrigerate the prawn bodies.
2. Make the stock. In a pot, melt a knob of oil over medium-high heat. Add prawn heads and shells, pressing on the heads with a spoon to release the fat — it'll turn the oil orange. Stir 3 minutes. · 3 min
3. Add 1.2 L water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer. Simmer 15 minutes, skimming any foam. · 15 min
4. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing on the solids to extract everything. You should have about 900 ml of fragrant orange stock. Return to the pot.
5. Add lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, chiles, garlic, and shallots. Bring to a simmer; simmer 5 minutes to infuse. · 5 min
6. Add the mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. Cook 2 minutes. · 2 min
7. Stir in the nam prik pao, fish sauce, and palm sugar. Taste — the broth should be aggressively savoury and slightly sweet, with the aromatic top notes pushing through.
8. Add the prawns. Cook 90 seconds — they'll curl and turn pink. Don't overcook. · 2 min
9. Off the heat. Stir in the lime juice. Taste again — the broth should now read as sour-salty-spicy-sweet, in that order.
10. Ladle into bowls. Scatter cilantro leaves. Eat hot.

Notes

Two main styles: *tom yum nam sai* (clear) and *tom yum nam khon*
(creamy). For the creamy version, stir 100 ml evaporated milk (the
Thai standard) or coconut milk into the finished broth just before
the lime juice goes in. Both are correct; the clear version is the
older one and the dish on which the others are built.

Diners do not eat the lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves, or whole
chiles — they're aromatics, not food. They're often left in the
bowl as a visual cue that this is a real tom yum, not a watered-down
version.

Tom yum is the dish that taught me how Thai cuisine balances four
tastes simultaneously. Most Western cuisines hit one or two; Thai
food expects all four — *priao* (sour), *khem* (salty), *phet*
(spicy), *waan* (sweet) — to be in active conversation in the same
spoonful.