🍤 Tom Yum Goong Spicy and Sour Shrimp Soup (Tom Yum Goong) Super Detailed Recipe + Editor's Hong Kong-Style Tips

Tom Yum Goong is undoubtedly Thailand's national soul soup! Its sour, spicy, fresh, and fragrant flavor is perfectly combined. Sautéed with shrimp paste and enhanced with lemongrass, galangal, and lime leaves, it's guaranteed to be a hit. With ingredients readily available in Hong Kong, whip up a pot of authentic Thai flavor and you can have a party at home! 🍋🌶️🍄

Necessary ingredients (serves 4)

• 8-10 large prawns (they are most delicious if you keep the heads and shells, and use the shrimp paste separately)

• 100g straw mushrooms/fresh mushrooms (halved or sliced)

• 1 tomato (cut into pieces)

• 2 lemongrass stalks (flattened and cut into sections)

• 20g galangal (sliced)

• 4 lemon leaves (torn)

• 2-3 chili peppers (crushed, spiciness optional)

• 2-3 shallots (sliced, optional for flavoring)

• 2 tablespoons Tom Yum Paste

• 2-3 tablespoons fish sauce

• 100-120ml coconut milk (for a thick and smooth recipe, optional for a lighter version)

• 1-2 limes (juiced)

• 1 teaspoon sugar (to balance the acidity)

• Coriander to taste

• 900-1000ml water or chicken broth

Detailed cooking process

1️⃣ Clean and devein the shrimp. Gently crush the shrimp heads to remove the paste and set aside. Deep-fry the shrimp shells or use them as a soup base for an authentic flavor!
2️⃣ Heat oil in a soup pot, sauté shrimp paste, Tom Yum Goong sauce and some chili peppers over medium heat until fragrant.
3️⃣ Pour in water or chicken broth. When the broth boils, add lemongrass, galangal, shallots, and lime leaves. Cook over medium-low heat until fragrant (about 5-8 minutes).
4️⃣ Add the straw mushrooms and tomatoes and continue cooking until they are all soft and tasty.
5️⃣ Add the shrimps to the pot (can be added in batches to avoid overcooking), turn to high heat and cook for 1-2 minutes, remove from the pot when the shrimps change color.
6️⃣ Pour in coconut milk and mix well. After boiling, season with fish sauce, sugar and lime juice. Taste and adjust as needed.
7️⃣ Turn off the heat and add the cilantro, remaining chili peppers, and shrimp to a bowl along with the broth. Serve with a squeeze of lime for flavor.

Editor's Warm Tips

• The essence of Tom Yum Goong lies in the balance of spices + shrimp paste + sour and spicy.

• Lemongrass and galangal must be pounded until they are soft to release their flavor, and shredded lemon leaves will enhance their aroma.

• Add fish sauce with caution, and taste it in small amounts several times. Adding sugar can balance the sour and spicy taste.

• The coconut milk version is warm and smooth, while the version without coconut milk is lighter and more sour.

• Mushrooms can be replaced with straw mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, and pleurotus geesteranus.

Even the most sophisticated Hong Kong kitchen can make it. Vegetarian soup is incredibly satisfying, and saving some broth to mix with rice noodles or hor fun is another meal! I highly recommend making the shrimp-in-the-shell version for the freshest, most Thai flavor. Making it yourself costs half the price, and you can add as much spice, shrimp, and mushrooms as you like—you can have a family gathering and never stop enjoying it! 🍤🍄🍋🔥