Spicy Tom Yum Soup (Printable)

A vibrant Thai broth featuring shrimp, lemongrass, lime, and chili with balanced heat and tartness.

# What You'll Need:

→ Broth Base

01 - 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
02 - 2 stalks fresh lemongrass, trimmed and smashed
03 - 4 kaffir lime leaves, torn
04 - 3 slices fresh galangal (or ginger)
05 - 2 Thai birds eye chilies, sliced

→ Main Ingredients

06 - 9 oz large shrimp, peeled and deveined
07 - 5 oz white mushrooms, sliced
08 - 2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
09 - 1 small onion, sliced
10 - 2 tablespoons fish sauce
11 - 1 tablespoon lime juice
12 - 1 teaspoon sugar
13 - 1 teaspoon chili paste (nam prik pao), optional
14 - Salt to taste

→ Garnishes

15 - Fresh cilantro leaves
16 - Sliced green onions
17 - Extra lime wedges

# Directions:

01 - Bring the stock to a simmer in a medium pot over medium heat. Add lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, and chilies. Simmer for 5 to 7 minutes to develop flavors.
02 - Add mushrooms, tomatoes, and onion to the broth. Continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes until vegetables soften.
03 - Add shrimp and cook until they turn pink and opaque, about 2 to 3 minutes.
04 - Stir in fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and optional chili paste. Adjust seasoning with additional fish sauce, lime juice, or salt as needed.
05 - Remove from heat and discard lemongrass and galangal if desired. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with cilantro, green onions, and lime wedges.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The broth tastes impossibly complex yet comes together in under 20 minutes of actual cooking.
  • It's naturally light and energizing, the kind of soup that leaves you feeling refreshed instead of heavy.
02 -
  • The difference between a flat soup and an extraordinary one is in those first 5 to 7 minutes of infusing the broth—don't rush it or skip it.
  • Fish sauce smells aggressively funky in the bottle, but once it hits the hot broth it becomes invisible, rounding out all the other flavors into something harmonious.
03 -
  • Prep all your ingredients before you start cooking; tom yum moves fast once the broth is simmering, and you won't want to be chopping mid-recipe.
  • If you can find fresh lemongrass at an Asian market instead of frozen, the difference in fragrance is worth the trip.
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