Chilli and Lime - Asian flavours with an awesome twist

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If you want to freshen up your day, this spicy, salty, sour and creamy broth will give you a boost. Tom Yum soup is spicy, but light, healthy and the absolute best hangover cure.

There are two kinds of Tom yum soup– spicy soupy broth – in Thailand. ต้มยำน้ำใส (Tom yum nam Sai – or Clear spicy soup) and ต้มยำน้ำข้น (Tom yum nam khon – Creamy spicy soup) both of them are equally popular. The Tom yum soup cooking method is quite straight forward and customizable to your taste. If you like it more sour, you can add more lime juice, like salty add more fish sauce or thin soy sauce (I don’t recommend regular soy sauce because it adds too much color and the smell is quite strong). For me, I love my tom yum soup to be sour, then salty and a little bit sweet just to round up the flavor.

For the creamy tom yum soup version, some people like to add evaporated milk instead of sugar, but coconut milk is a great choice for people who have lactose intolerant or vegan. If you don’t finish it in one sitting, you can separate the tom yum soup before adding the seasoning ingredients (I’ll tell you how later) and put some in the fridge for later – it will last a couple of days.

Creamy Mushroom Tom Yum Soup (ต้มยำเห็ดน้ำข้น) Recipe

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 30 mins
Portions: 4 portions

You’ll need:

2 handfuls of straw mushrooms *
3-5 Kaffir lime leaves
3-4 stalks of Lemongrass
1 thumb sized piece of galangal
3-10 bird’s eye chillies *
A splash of coconut cream *
1.5- 2 Litre of vegetable stock (or any stock)
1 – 2 limes *
5-6 tbs of thin soy sauce or fish sauce *
1 pinch of coconut sugar
1-2 Coriander or Culantro (Saw leaf parsley)
Shallots or onions (Optional)
Thai chilli paste or chilli oil *

these ingredient quantities are adjustable – making tom yum is all about adjusting to find your favourite flavor.

Let’s start!

In a medium pot, put 125 – 200 ml. of broth on a high heat, til it boils Add the lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves and boil for 5-10 minutes
If you are using them, you can put in shallots at this time then wait til they are semi-translucent then add the mushrooms. After 10-15 minutes your mushrooms should be cooked and it’s time to start favoring. If you are going to save some soup for another day, separate it now.
Add a pinch of coconut sugar and the fish sauce (thin soy sauce for vegan version).
Add the chilli, turn the heat down to a simmer for 5 mins.
Turn off the heat then squeeze the lime (if you add lime while the soup is boiling it’ll taste bitter)

You can put the coconut milk straight in the soup after turn off the heat then slowly dissolve the thai chilli paste in with your ladle or leave it as it is, if you can’t handle the heat.
You can add coconut milk in the bowl along with the dissolved thai chilli paste as well as lime juice, fish sauce and sugar then add the clear soup, this way is good if you’d like to keep the soup for later
Garnish with coriander or culantro. Best served hot with steamed rice and enjoy!