Tom Yum Soup (Printable Version)

Aromatic Thai soup with lemongrass, lime, Thai chiles, and shrimp in perfectly balanced hot and sour broth.

# What You'll Need:

→ Broth Base

01 - 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
02 - 2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and smashed
03 - 4 kaffir lime leaves, torn
04 - 3 slices galangal or ginger
05 - 2 Thai bird's eye chiles, sliced

→ Vegetables and Aromatics

06 - 7 ounces mushrooms, sliced
07 - 2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
08 - 1 small onion, sliced
09 - 3 cloves garlic, smashed

→ Protein

10 - 10 ounces shrimp, peeled and deveined or tofu

→ Seasonings and Finish

11 - 3 tablespoons fish sauce or soy sauce
12 - 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
13 - 1 teaspoon sugar
14 - 1 teaspoon chili paste, optional
15 - Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
16 - 2 green onions, sliced
17 - Lime wedges for serving

# Steps:

01 - In a medium pot, bring the stock to a gentle boil. Add lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, chiles, garlic, and onion. Simmer for 10 minutes to allow flavors to infuse completely.
02 - Add mushrooms and tomatoes to the broth. Cook for 5 minutes until mushrooms are tender.
03 - Add shrimp or tofu and simmer just until shrimp turn pink and cook through, approximately 2 to 3 minutes.
04 - Stir in fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and chili paste if using. Taste and adjust seasoning for salt, sourness, and heat to preference.
05 - Remove from heat. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with cilantro and green onions. Serve with lime wedges.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The flavor balance keeps surprising you—sour, spicy, salty, and savory all talking to each other at once.
  • It tastes like restaurant-quality soup but comes together faster than delivery would arrive.
  • You control the heat and brightness, so it adapts to whatever mood you're in that day.
02 -
  • Don't skip the 10-minute infusion step with the aromatics—that's where the real flavor magic happens, not in the final seasoning.
  • Fish sauce smells like low tide at first, but trust it; once the soup comes together, that funk transforms into something that makes you want another bowl.
03 -
  • Smash your aromatics before they go into the pot—this breaks cell walls and releases flavor that whole pieces never deliver.
  • Keep lime wedges on the table so people can adjust sourness to their taste; some of the best moments in eating happen when someone gets the balance exactly right for themselves.
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