Tom Yum Goong

Tom Yum Goong (ต้มยำกุ้ง)

In Thai: tom yam kung — tom means to boil, yam is a kind of hot and sour salad, and kung is shrimp. So, literally, “boiled hot and sour with shrimp.” In Hebrew it appears as “טום יאם”, “טום יאם גונג” or “Thai hot and sour soup,” and it is the best-known Thai soup outside Thailand.

It has two main versions: tom yam nam sai — clear, which is the original — and tom yam nam khon, thick and creamy, to which unsweetened evaporated milk or coconut milk is added. The recipe here is the clear one, with options for making a creamy version.

Prep time: 20 minutes · Cook time: 20 minutes · Total: about 40 minutes · Yield: 4 servings · Difficulty: medium

The aromatics and what you can substitute

Lemongrass, galangal and makrut lime leaves give the soup its signature aroma. Cut them coarsely to infuse the stock, and remove or strain them before eating.

• Lemongrass: bruise the stalk lightly and cut it into pieces. Frozen stalks can be used.
• Galangal: a root with a citrusy aroma, different from ginger. Frozen galangal works in place of fresh in the same amount; a homemade alternative with ginger is described below, with a different taste.
• Makrut lime leaves: also sold as lime leaves. Frozen ones can be used; with dried leaves and spice kits, follow the package instructions.
• Nam prik pao: a roasted chili paste in oil. If you have none, you can make a homemade mix from two teaspoons of tomato paste, a teaspoon of oil, a teaspoon of brown sugar and a quarter to half a teaspoon of ground chili. It is a sweet and spicy alternative with less roasted flavor, and not the same product.

The second rule: the acidity goes in at the end

Cooked lime juice loses its fresh aroma and turns bitter. That is why in most traditional Thai recipes the lime juice goes in after the heat is turned off, not during cooking. The same rule applies to the fresh herbs and the cilantro.

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

• 400 grams raw shrimp, peeled, weighed after thawing and draining; shells and heads for stock only if you have them
• 1.2 liters water or light stock
• 2 lemongrass stalks, bruised and cut into pieces
• 4–5 slices fresh or frozen galangal
• 6 fresh or frozen makrut lime leaves, torn
• 200 grams mushrooms — button or wild mushrooms — halved
• 2 medium tomatoes, quartered
• 1 small onion or 4 shallots, quartered
• 1/2–1 local green chili pepper, sliced — or 3–6 small Thai chilies, depending on the heat
• 2 tablespoons nam prik pao (roasted chili paste) — or the homemade alternative from the note on the aromatics
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)
• 1 teaspoon palm sugar or brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons lime juice, or lemon juice to taste
• A bunch of chopped cilantro

Choosing ingredients and substitutes

Lemongrass, galangal and makrut lime leaves are sold in Asian grocery stores in Israel, sometimes frozen or dried. You can use a dried tom yum spice kit at the package dose for 1.2 liters. If you have none, for a different homemade version use 4 slices of ginger and two thin strips of lime or lemon peel, without the white pith, instead of the three aromatics; strain before serving. Fish sauce can be replaced with two tablespoons of soy sauce added after tasting, but the taste changes. Button mushrooms, regular green chili and lemon juice are available substitutes for straw mushrooms, Thai chili and lime.

Method

1. Make a stock from the shells — 5 minutes that change everything. Fry the shrimp heads and shells in a little oil for 2-3 minutes until red and fragrant, add the water and cook for 10 minutes. Strain and discard the shells. If you are using peeled shrimp only, skip this and use a light stock.
2. Infuse the aromatics. Bring the stock back to a boil, add the lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves, and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. The smell should fill the kitchen.
3. Add the vegetables. Add the onion, the mushrooms and the tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Season. Add the nam prik pao, the fish sauce, the sugar and the crushed chilies, and stir until the paste has completely dissolved.
5. Cook the shrimp. Add the shrimp and cook usually for 2–3 minutes, depending on size, until the flesh is opaque and cooked through in the center. Color and the shape of the curl alone are not a sufficient test. Stop cooking when they are done so they don’t toughen.
6. Finish off the heat. Turn off the heat, add the lime juice and chopped cilantro, and taste. The right taste is sour first, then salty and spicy, with sweet only in the background.
7. Serve immediately with white rice on the side. The lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves are not eaten — leave them in the bowl.

Nutrition facts and calorie estimate

The recommended serving is a bowl of about 350 ml, a quarter of the pot, in the clear version.

This is the best protein ratio in the category: about 24 grams of protein in about 160 calories, almost all of it from the shrimp, which are among the most protein-dense foods relative to calories. Shrimp also provide significant amounts of selenium and vitamin B12.

And here is the other side, which is the sodium. Three tablespoons of fish sauce are about 4,000 mg of sodium, divided among four servings — that is, about 1,000 mg per bowl even before the chili paste. One bowl can provide about half of the recommended daily limit. Anyone who wants to cut back can drop to 2 tablespoons of fish sauce and make up for it with extra lime and chili — acidity and heat enhance the perception of saltiness, and it works. More on the sodium page.

For a creamy version: at the end of cooking add 100 ml of unsweetened evaporated milk. This is not sweetened condensed milk. If you can’t find it, you can use 100 ml of 10%–15% cooking cream, or 100 ml of cooking coconut milk for a different, coconutty taste. The calories will change depending on the product and amount, and are not included in the estimate for the clear version.

Variations and tips

• Chicken tom yum (tom yam gai): replace the shrimp with 400 grams of thinly sliced chicken breast, added 5-6 minutes before the end. About 155 calories per serving and about 26 grams of protein.
• Vegetarian tom yum: skip the fish sauce in favor of soy sauce or dissolved miso paste, and increase the mushrooms to 400 grams with 200 grams of firm tofu. The taste differs from the original, but the hot and sour structure is preserved.
• Tom kha (tom kha) — not the same soup: a different Thai soup, built on coconut milk and galangal and not as spicy as tom yum. Confusing the two is very common on menus in Israel.
• Controlled heat: a whole chili added to the pot without breaking it gives aroma with almost no heat. The more you crush it, the hotter it gets. You can start with whole ones and crush them as you taste.
• Making ahead: the stock with the aromatics can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge. The shrimp and the lime juice are always added just before serving — reheating turns the shrimp rubbery.

Summary

Tom yum goong is a soup of balance between four tastes — sour, salty, spicy and sweet — and of two timings: the aromatics at the start, the lime and the shrimp at the end. Nutritionally it stands out for the better with about 24 grams of protein in about 160 calories, and for the worse in sodium, which reaches about half the daily limit in one bowl. For more soups see Soups, and for the nutritional values of the main ingredient — shrimp.