This is a simple yet delicious creamy tom yum soup; a Thai hot and sour soup that is aromatic, rich, spicy, and satisfying! Plus this recipe is customizable, meat-free, and can be made vegan!
First, prepare and chop the various ingredients. Thinly slice the mushrooms (you can leave them whole if using dried shiitake), slice the galangal into disks, dice the tomatoes, and prepare the lemongrass.Cut off the lower bulb of the lemongrass and remove any tough outer leaves. Then slice into sections. Any tough bits will be inedible and will need to be removed from the soup before serving- otherwise, it can be kept in.Chef's Note: I keep my pieces larger for the ingredients making up what is usually a 'paste', so they don't crush down into too much of a paste. However, if you prefer a finer texture then feel free to mince the ingredients before crushing them in the mortar and pestle.
Place the chilies, garlic, lime leaves, galangal, and lemongrass in a bowl and use a pestle to gently crush the ingredients together into slightly more of a mash.
In a large pan, first heat up the coconut oil, then add the crushed spices mixture and saute lightly for just a minute.
Then add the vegetable broth and coconut milk and stir well.
Finally, add the tomatoes and mushrooms and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for around 8-10 minutes, until the vegetables are softened.
Remove the lime leaves and any tough bits of lemongrass (soft pieces can be eaten in the soup), add the lime juice, then your soup is ready to serve - enjoy! Optionally garnish with some cilantro or Thai basil.
How To Serve
Serve this soup as an appetizer or alongside coconut rice or noodles as a main.
How To Store
You can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for 1 month.To reheat, heat gently on the stove or in the microwave.
Video
Notes
The kaffir lime leaves: You can substitute the lime leaves with bay leaves, though it will affect the flavor as they aren't a direct substitution.
Galangal: If you're unable to find galangal, then you can use ginger instead with a dash of black pepper.
Fish Sauce: If you want to make a vegan tom yum soup, then you can use a vegan fish sauce alternative, blend the soy sauce with a sheet of nori and a couple dried shiitake mushrooms, or omit this ingredient - though then you may need to add a little extra of other ingredients.
Coconut Milk: Adjust the amount used based on how rich and creamy you'd like the soup to be. Omit it for a classic tom yum - though you may need some additional stock.
If you find the soup a little too sour, then feel free to add a little extra sugar to balance out the flavor.
If the soup is a little too salty or sweet, then add in extra lime juice.
To customize the level of spice in this soup, you can reduce the number of chilies, add more, or even glug in some chili oil or chili flakes to ramp up the spice. Don't like spice? You can omit the chili entirely for a soup that is still packed with flavor.
You could add a variety of different vegetables to this soup, including zucchini, different mushroom varieties, tender stem broccoli, mangetout, baby corn, peppers, bok choy, etc. You could also add tofu, for extra protein.
You can make it into a more substantial meal by turning it into a Tom Yum noodle soup. I like to cook my noodles separately for this and the pouring the soup over the cooked noodles.
Top Tip: My homemade Thai red curry paste has a lot of the aromatic elements of this soup base, so feel free to blend up a large batch and use it as the base to this recipe with the vegetable stock.