Soups · Thai
Tom Yum Soup with Shrimp
Hot, sour and fragrant with lemongrass, galangal and lime leaf, with sweet shrimp poached right in the bowl-ready broth.
- Hands-on
- 25 min
- Hands-off
- 20 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Makes
- 4 bowls
- Serves
- 4
About 20 minutes to peel the shrimp and prepare the aromatics, a 15-minute unattended simmer, a few minutes with the mushrooms, then the shrimp cook off the heat for 4-5 minutes. Total = 25 min active + 20 min hands-off. Add about 15 minutes if you serve it over rice noodles.
- easy
- seafood
- weeknight
- spicy
Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means
Scaling? Halves easily. When doubling, use a bigger pot and add the shrimp in one layer if you can; a much larger batch may need an extra minute or two off the heat for the shrimp to turn opaque. Some items (like eggs) don’t halve neatly: beat them, then measure out half.
Ingredients
You need: Dutch oven or large pot with a lid · meat pounder or small heavy skillet (for bruising the aromatics) · slotted spoon · cutting board and knife · large soup bowls
Contains: shellfish · fish
Method
Bruise the aromatics
Lightly smash the 2 lemongrass stalks, the 4 scallion whites, 6 lime leaves, 1 whole Thai chile and the sliced galangal with a meat pounder or the bottom of a small skillet.
Simmer the broth
Put the smashed aromatics in the pot with 1.9 litres (8 cups) chicken broth and 1 tbsp sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn it down and simmer for 15 minutes.
Ready when: A steady, gentle simmer; the broth smells strongly of lemongrass and lime leaf.
Remove the aromatics
Lift out and throw away all the lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves, scallion whites and whole chile with a slotted spoon.
Otto tried this firstOtto leaves the lemongrass in 'for flavour' and serves a bowl with a woody stalk in it. These pieces flavour the broth but are too tough to eat: fish them all out.Add the mushrooms
Add 225 g (8 oz) torn oyster mushrooms, 3 tbsp fish sauce, the scallion greens and the sliced Thai chile. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
Ready when: The mushrooms are soft and floppy.
Cook the shrimp off the heat
Stir in the 450 g (1 lb) shrimp, cover the pot, take it off the heat and leave it for 4 to 5 minutes.
Ready when: Every shrimp is pink, curled and opaque all the way through, with no grey, glassy centre. If any are still translucent after 5 minutes, put the pot back on low heat for a minute or two.
Season and serve
Stir in 340 g (12 oz) halved cherry tomatoes and 2 tbsp lime juice. Taste and add more sugar, fish sauce or lime juice. Ladle into bowls and top with the cilantro and Thai basil; pass lime wedges and extra sliced chiles at the table.
Swaps
- Instead of galangal: the same amount of fresh ginger, sliced
- Instead of 6 makrut lime leaves: three 7.5 cm (3 in) strips of lemon zest plus three of lime zest Bruise and remove them with the other aromatics.
- Instead of oyster mushrooms: button mushrooms, quartered
- Instead of soup on its own: serve it over 115 g (4 oz) rice vermicelli: take 4 litres of boiling water off the heat, soak the noodles 10-15 minutes until tender, drain, rinse in cold water and divide among the bowls With noodles it stretches to 6 bowls.
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Make ahead
- You can simmer the aromatic broth ahead, strain it and refrigerate it; bring it back to a simmer, then carry on from the mushroom step. The shrimp are best cooked just before serving.
- Storage
- Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and eat within 3 to 4 days.
- Reheat
- Reheat until steaming hot throughout, 74°C (165°F).
If something goes wrong
- Shrimp still translucent in the middle Why: Very large shrimp, or a cool pot.
Return the pot to low heat for a minute or two until every shrimp is opaque. Next time you can halve big shrimp crosswise before adding them. - Flat-tasting broth Why: The seasoning isn't balanced yet.
Add fish sauce for salt, lime juice for sourness and a pinch of sugar, a little at a time, tasting as you go.
Good to know
- For a deeper broth, keep the shrimp shells and simmer them in water for about 20 minutes, then strain and use that stock in place of part of the broth.
- Slice the extra chiles thinly and pass them at the table so everyone sets their own heat.
Safety
- Shrimp must be cooked until opaque and pearly all the way through. Don't serve any that still look glassy.
- Contains shellfish (shrimp) and fish (fish sauce).
- Thai chiles are very hot. Wash your hands after cutting them and keep them away from your eyes; go easy on chiles for children.
- Remove the lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves before serving: they flavour the broth but are tough, woody and not meant to be eaten.