It’s soup season!! And I love soup. Tom Yum is a delicious Thai hot and sour soup, and I think I’ve finally gotten it just about right! Obvs, I’ll still tinker with it a bit as I make it each time, but you can’t go wrong with this version. It’s great as a meal on its own, but I like to serve it with either a light salad with peanut dressing, or with a heartier meal of a Thai curry.

Some of these ingredients may be hard to find – but surprisingly (or not so surprisingly) Amazon sells a little kit with the basics, because of course they do. (ah, the interwebs.) It’s way more expensive than going to the local Asian grocer, but if it’s your only option and you really want to make this… Well, I’d say it’s worth it. 🙂

• 1.5 qt vegetable broth
• 2-3 stalks lemongrass, beaten (I use a meat mallet to bash it, or use the back of a knife or something)
• 2- 1″ pieces of galangal, lightly beaten
• 2 T fish sauce (or tamari or aminos; for the saltiness)
• 5 kaffir lime leaves
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
• 8 button mushrooms, sliced
• 5 shiitake mushrooms, sliced thinly
• 10 Thai red chilies, whole but with a little slit cut in each one to help release the flavors and heat (can add more/less if you like it/don’t like it spicy)
• 3 heaping teaspoons of Thai roasted chili paste (I use Thai Kitchen brand, but you could also make your own, for much cheaper – I’ll be looking into a homemade version for the next time I make this)
• 3 green onions, chopped
• juice of 2 limes
• 1/4 C cilantro, rough chop

Bring the first 4 ingredients to a boil, and reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the next 5 ingredients (lime leaves through chilies) and cook about 5 minutes. Then stir in the chili paste and green onions. Simmer a couple minutes. Turn off the heat. At this point, I like to remove the lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves and some of the Thai chilies, as they’re bulky and you don’t really eat them anyway. They’ve already lent their flavor to the soup, and can be discarded. Lastly, stir in the lime juice and cilantro, and serve!

It’s spicy and tart and fills your belly with warmth. It’s basically taken the place of good ‘ol chicken soup when we’re sick! It reheats beautifully, so you can make a large batch and keep for the whole week.