Tom Yum Goong
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.
1l chicken stock 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.
Tom Yum Goong
Ingredients:
18 raw king prawns, trimmed, shells on and deveined
1 lemongrass, slightly crushed
2-3 kaffir lime leaves
2cm galangal, sliced
2-3 bird's eyes chillies
1 tbsp nam prik pao
2-3 tbsp fish sauce
2-3 tsp sugar
2-3 tbsp lime juice
a small handful of coriander leaves, to serveDirections:
Welcome to My Cooking Hut, a blog that brings you fresh, simple, healthy and quick Asian & French cooking. There is a tremendous amount of captivating food & travel photography. My name is Leemei and I have been authoring this blog since 2007. 
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this is the best Thai dish that I loved since I was little. The sweetness, the sour and the spices, all together make you drool just by thinking about it. Thank you for the post, the photo is just as yummy!
mycookinghut replied: — January 17th, 2010 @ 21:08
Yes, it has also been my fav dish since I was young. Thanks for your compliment!
Perfect for this windy and rainy weekend! I love the bowls…
mycookinghut replied: — January 17th, 2010 @ 21:08
Definitely!
Tom Yum is one of my favorite flavors!
mycookinghut replied: — January 17th, 2010 @ 21:08
So is mine too
I am blow away by the beauty of your photos! Oh yeah – and the soup sounds fantastic.
mycookinghut replied: — January 17th, 2010 @ 21:09
Thanks for your compliment. Hope you like what you see on my blog so far.
A big favourite of mine!
mycookinghut replied: — January 17th, 2010 @ 21:09
Nice Pics …lovely dish… and great recipe…makes me drool.. :p
mycookinghut replied: — January 17th, 2010 @ 21:09
eheh.. thanks!
I can drink this soup every week, no problem! Look at the gorgeous colour!
mycookinghut replied: — January 17th, 2010 @ 21:09
yeah… same for me..
One bowl of this won't be enough for me, I need a whole pot as I ABSOLUTELY love tom yum!! Lovely!
mycookinghut replied: — January 18th, 2010 @ 22:06
Seriously, I can indulge the whole pot myself too.. the spicier, the better.. haha
Oh how funny I made Tom yum the other night too
But mine is the clear version 
Yours looks very tempting!
mycookinghut replied: — January 18th, 2010 @ 22:07
What a coincidence!!
I agree with the previous comment, I would not be happy with just one bowl of this fragrant deliciousness!!!
mycookinghut replied: — January 18th, 2010 @ 22:08
I need to cook a real big pot so that we can all share..
My fav soup when I go for Thai food
But my other half does not like sour…so different from me ;p
mycookinghut replied: — January 18th, 2010 @ 22:09
It's my all time fav too.. my other half can't take spicy… but he couldn't resist to take a few sips and kept complaining spicy.. haha
one of my favourite Thai dishes! I really love the wooden tray and the bowls you used… you're really good at food styling!
mycookinghut replied: — January 18th, 2010 @ 22:09
Thanks for your compliment ….
You're making me drooling again with this "to-die-for" soup! So so irresistable! Even it is not cold here, I don't mind to have a bowl to solve my craving. LOL!
mycookinghut replied: — January 18th, 2010 @ 22:10
Back in Malaysia, despite the hot weather, I never say no to Tom Yum… even though it makes me sweat but it's a happy sweat.. haha
oh goodness me … I just drooled over my laptop. I'm so going to make this soup. Btw: I love your bowls. They are gorgeous!
mycookinghut replied: — January 18th, 2010 @ 22:11
Thanks for your compliment!
This soup is a great dish and when I think sour & spicy, I think Tom Yum 
Wow, looks so yummy. I am drooling just by looking at these pictures. Got to have some tonight!
mycookinghut replied: — January 24th, 2010 @ 13:53
Oh yum….Love tom yum!Dying for some soup now…
mycookinghut replied: — January 24th, 2010 @ 13:54
Go and make one now.. hehe