Thai Hot & Sour Soup (Tom Yun Goon)

Serves: 4-5

Prep Time:15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

- 300 g prawns (peeled, deveined, heads on; save the shells and heads for stock)

- 1 stalk of lemongrass, smashed and cut into 1 cm pieces

- 3 shallots, crushed

- 5 slices of galangal

- 6 kaffir lime leaves

- 1 cup button mushrooms, sliced

- 2 ½ cups water or fish stock

- 1-2 tbsp fish sauce (adjust to taste)

- 4-5 tbsp fresh lime juice (adjust to taste)

- Pinch of salt

- Red chilies, thinly sliced

- 2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander, plus extra for garnish

- 1 tbsp Thai chili jam (nam prik pao) including the oil

- 4 tbsp coconut milk

- 1 tsp stock powder

Preparation:

In a medium size pot, bring 2 cups of water to the boil. Add the prawn shells and heads along with a pinch of salt. To extract more flavor, crush the shells and heads to draw out more richness.

Boil for about 5 minutes, then strain out the shells and heads. Keep the liquid. Then, add an additional ½ cup of water to the pot.

Add the lemongrass, galangal, and shallots to the pot, then bring it back to a boil.

Add the prawns and remove them as soon as they turn pink. This usually takes no more then 2 minutes. If longer, the prawns will be rubbery and overcooked.

This method helps prevent overcooking and keeps the prawns looking great when served. If you’re using smaller prawns, you can add them at the end instead.

Stir in the mushrooms and season with fish sauce and stock powder.

Add the chilies and kaffir lime leaves, then mix in the coconut milk along with the chili jam. Once it reaches a boil, turn off the heat. You can add lime juice at this point, but I prefer to add it just before serving.

In a serving bowl, combine lime juice and coriander, then mix in the soup before placing the prawns on top.

Garnish with extra coriander and chilies. Enjoy your Tom Yum soup with a bowl of boiled jasmine rice!

In Thailand, this soup is served with boiled jasmine rice alongside other dishes as a main course.