Tom Yum soup is one of my favorite Thai soups! Tom Yum is hot, tangy, sour, and spicy. This soup is perfect for a cold fall day or lets be honest, it tastes just as good during a hot summer day!
You are going to want more than just one bowl of Tom Yum, which is perfectly acceptable. This soup is super low in fat so you don’t have to feel so guilty about a little over eating. Your welcome.
So, before I tell you how to make this life changing Tom Yum Gai, we need to go over a few ingredients you need to get your hands on.
You may have to stop by an Asian market to pick up some of these ingredients. If you don’t have access to one, you can buy them all on Amazon. Here are the links to buy these on Amazon. Fish sauce: Amazon Check your local grocery store before you splurge on Amazon, I have seen fish sauce at most of my regular grocery stores.
Thin soy sauce: Amazon You can substitute this for mushroom soy sauce like the one in the Amazon link. However, do not substitute for a regular dark soy sauce, the taste will not be the same.
Roasted chili paste: Amazon There are so many brands of Chili paste, just make sure the bottle says something along the lines of roasted chili paste.
Now that we have the sauces squared away, lets move on to the prep work!
First cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and set aside. Chop the cilantro, cut the galangal root into thin rounds, cut the cherry tomatoes into thirds, pound the lemongrass and cut it into 1 inch pieces, thinly slice the shallots, and cut the chili peppers in half (lengthwise).
Once the prep work is done, this Tom Yum soup is super fast and simple to prepare! First, dump the chicken broth into a large pot. Add the lime leaves, hot chili peppers, lemongrass, and galangal root. Boil on high for about 10 minutes. Add 2 cups of water and return to a boil. Once boiling, add the chicken, shallots, and mushrooms. Reduce the heat to medium, be stirring occasionally. Add the fish sauce, thin soy sauce, chili paste, sugar, and the juice from the limes. Stir well, and cook for an additional 2 minutes, then add the cilantro and grape tomatoes.
Keep on low for as long as you want to be eating! Serve over jasmine rice or eat it plain!
Get ready for your mouth to explode with so many flavors!
A reminder if you haven’t eaten Tom Yum before, you will not die from eating the lime leaves, lemongrass, and galangal root. But, do yourself a favor and don’t. You will save yourself a lot of chewing time.
- 1lb chicken breast
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 32 oz. chicken broth
- 1 large shallot
- 1/2 cup lemongrass (about 1 large stalk)
- 4-5 thin rounds of galangal root
- 5-7 lime leaves
- 3-5 birds eye chili peppers
- 3/4 cup grape tomatoes
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 2 big limes or 4-6 key limes
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbsp. fish sauce
- 1 tbsp. thin soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. roasted chili paste
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and set aside.
- Chop the cilantro, cut the grape tomatoes into thirds, thinly slice the shallots, and cut the birds eye chilies in half lengthwise.
- Cut the galangal root into thin rounds, pound the lemongrass, then cut it into 1 inch pieces.
- Pour the chicken broth into a large pot and add the lime leaves, lemongrass, peppers, and galangal root. Boil on high for about 10 minutes.
- Add 2 cups of water and bring back to a boil, add the chicken, mushrooms, and shallots.
- Reduce heat to medium and add the fish sauce, thin soy sauce, chili paste, sugar, and lime. Stir well.
- Cook for about 2 more minutes, then add the cilantro and grape tomatoes. Keep on low.
- Serve in a bowl by itself or serve over jasmine rice. ENJOY!!!
