Authentic Tom Yum Goong Soup

This Authentic Tom Yum Goong Soup, also known in America as Tom Yam Kung, is a popular hot and sour shrimp soup in Thailand made with a blend of spicy and savory flavors, also made popular at many Thai restaurants around the world.

If you like spicy healthy soups this dish typically prepared with shrimp or chicken will have you at hello! The first time I tried Tom Yum Goong Soup, I am not sure I was even able to taste what I was eating! I was dining at a Thai restaurant in Amsterdam and I had a bad cold at the time. I was so congested that I hadn’t really tasted anything for days. I was seated at the bar, and I watched as the chef, a Thai woman in her 50’s working at an open kitchen, prepared the soup. She was brought over to the Nederland’s by the owner of the restaurant, who fell in love with her cooking while on vacation in Thailand.

The chef asked how spicy I wanted the soup and I told her, I don’t know, you decide. Well, she must have added a lot of chillies because my mouth was on fire afterwords and I was sweating like crazy. Surprisingly the next day the most amazing thing happened… I got up in the morning and my cold was gone! I don’t know if it was the chillies or all of the amazing antioxidants in the soup, but my cold was cured.

The next night, I went back to the restaurant and I told the chef that I was feeling great and that my cold had vanished. That evening I ordered two servings of the soup, and a curry dish to go along with it as an Entree. Ever since that first evening, this soup has had a special place in my heart. I could go on and on about how much I love this dish but I will let you be the judge. This recipe for Tom Yum Goong Soup recipe is an authentic recipe that I learned while at cooking school in Thailand. If you love Thai food as much as I do you will certainly appreciate the authenticity of this dish. Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Authentic Tom Yum Goong Soup

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Thai

Author: My Global Cuisine

Ingredients

• 2 cups of water or fish stock
• 1 lemongrass stalk - with the outermost leaf removed - sliced diagonally into 1 inch pieces
• 5 slices of galangal ginger about half inch each
• 5 kaffir lime leaves sliced in half
• 2 TSP Thai Chili Paste
• 10 medium sized prawns heads removed, peeled and deveined
• 1- 2 TBSP of fish sauce
• 2 TSP of sugar
• 3 TBSP of lime juice
• 1 cup straw mushrooms or any type of mushrooms- trim the stem off and cut into quarters
• 1 small tomato cut into quarters
• 2 TBSP of coconut milk
• 2 to 3 bird's eye chilies or more if you like it hot
• 1 TBSP of coriander leaves- cilantro leaves chopped
• 1 green onion cut into quarters

Instructions

• - Pour stock into a sauce pan and bring to a simmer.
• - Add the lemongrass, the galangal ginger, the kaffir lime leaves and the chilli paste, and allow to simmer between 1 and 2 minutes
• - Add the prawns, the fish sauce, the sugar, the lime juice, and simmer for two minutes.
• - Add the mushrooms, the tomato, the coconut milk, the bird's eye chilies and simmer for another minute
• - Add the coriander leaves or cilantro leaves, the green onions and turn off the heat.
• - Taste the soup and adjust the flavors. You may add more lime juice, fish sauce or chilies if needed. Taste and serve.