Tom Yum is one of the best known national Thai dishes, a spicy, sour, and aromatic soup which usually consists of shallots, lemongrass, tamarind, soy sauce, minced fresh galangal, coriander, mushrooms, kaffir lime leaves, lime juice, and Thai chili peppers.
In this dish, the iconic flavours come from 3 herbs: lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves. You can substitue other ingredients but there is no best substitue for these three herbs. So, if you make tom yum, make sure you collected all the ingredients first.
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 lemongrass stalk cut in 4 pieces
1 tsp galangal grated or 1 tsp galangal powder
3 garlic cloves minced
2 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tbsp soybean oil
1 tbsp coconut sugar
4-5 kaffir lime leaves
6-7 cherry tomatoes
1 large silver onion
2 whole red chili peppers
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp freshly ground coriander seeds
1 tbsp tamari
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup water
500 g assorted mushrooms chopped
100 g bamboo shoots (or inner parts of zucchini) -optional but goes so well in this dish.
3 tbsp lime juice
Instructions
1.Crush the lemongrass to release the oil and aroma. Slice the stalks into 3-4 inch pieces, add to your pot.
2.Crush the garlic as well add to the pot.
3.Add the chili pepper, coconut sugar, halved tomatoes, chopped onions, kaffir lime leaves, galangal and tamarind paste as well.
4.Heat the pot on medium heat. Sauté the aromatics for 2 to 3 minutes over medium high heat until the onion is translucent.
5.Then add the mushrooms, bamboo shoots (or zucchini) continue to sauté for 4-5 minutes.
6.Add the tamari, vegetable stock, water and coconut milk.
7.Cover and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
8.Remove from the heat and add the lime juice as well as salt and chili to taste.
9.Serve in small bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro (if desired).