Hot and sour soup with prawns – Tom Yum Goong (ต้มยำกุ้ง) is one of those dishes that I love and can’t think of any reasons to say ‘no’ to it. Tom yum is such a distinct soup – hot and sour flavours that will wake up all your senses. The most popular tom yum is tom yum goong, which is cooked with prawns. Tom yum gai is the chicken version, which is as nice. I always opt to have tom yum goong as I just can’t resist to the sweetness and succulent texture of prawns. This Thai dish is not only popular in SE Asia but almost anywhere in the world!

As you know, Thai food is characterised by sweetness, sourness, and spiciness. This applies to tom yum, well, probably not so much on the sweetness this time. I think, what I really like about tom yum apart from its spiciness, sourness, and a bit of saltiness; is the fragrance of the herbs. Lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, and chilies are used to infuse the soup make this soup full of characters! What can be better than this?

After having a bowl of tom yum, it instantly warms up your body and give a great sense of satisfaction to the taste buds! I also learn that the use of herbs in this soup helps to boost our immune system as it has natural remedy for cold and flu. So, does that mean that it’s better off to have tom yum soup more frequently than having Vitamin C in order to build up our immune system? haha…  I definitely have no problem to have it as frequent as possible.

Tom yum soup really helps me beating the cold. Last week was probably the coldest week. The temperature has risen a bit since then. But, that doesn’t mean warm just yet! It just means there is no more snow but rain. Honestly, I prefer snow than rain! Not sure about others, but that’s my preference if I get to choose.

Tom yum goong is a real quick soup that can be prepared within minutes. Need a quick fix of tom yum? Here’s the recipe.

Recipe: Tom Yum Goong

Ingredients:

Chicken stock, 1 litre

Raw king prawns (trimmed, shells on, deveined), 16-18

Lemongrass (slightly smashed), 1

Kaffir lime leaves, 2-3

Galangal (sliced), 2 cm

Bird’s eyes chilies (slightly crushed), 2-3

Nam prik pao, 0.5 – 1 tbsp

Fish sauce, 2-3 tbsp

Sugar, 2-3 tsp

Lime juice, 2-3 tbsp

Coriander, to serve

Method:

1. In a pot on a medium heat, put in the chicken stock and bring to a boil.

2. Put in slight smashed lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, chilies into the stock and infuse for a few minutes.

3. Then, add in nam prik pao, fish sauce and lime juice. Add in the prawns and cook  for 3 minutes or until the prawns turn pink.

4. Taste and adjust the saltiness, sourness, and spiciness if necessary.

5. Serve hot with some fresh coriander leaves.