Hot & Sour Prawn Soup (Tom Yum Khung)

This recipe is based on our experience cooking at the Basil Healthy Thai Cookery School in Chiang Mai.

Serves 1

Ingredients

  • 3-6 medium green prawns (depends on their size), shelled, tails in tact, and deveined.
  • ¼ cup straw mushrooms, cut into quarters
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 3 dried small red (hot) chillies, crushed or fresh chillies, deseeded and diced
  • 1 stick lemongrass, white part only, halved and crushed
  • 3 thin slices of galangal*
  • 2 kaffir lime leaves, stems removed and roughly chopped
  • ½ onion, cut into quarters
  • 1 tbsp. tom yum paste*
  • 1½ tbsp. fish sauce
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • 2 tbsp. lime juice
  • 1 tomato, cut into quarters
  • 1 tbsp fresh coriander, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp spring onion, roughly chopped
starters-thailand-hot-sour-prawn-soup

Method

  1. Place the chicken stock into a pot and bring it to the boil over medium heat. Add lemongrass and galangal then keep cooking for a few minutes or until fragrant. Add mushroom and onion, bring to the boil.
  2. Add fish sauce, tom yum paste, sugar, chillies and stir well to combine.
  3. Then add the prawns, just before they are fully cooked add tomato, kaffir lime leaves, coriander and spring onion. Finish cooking the prawns, trying not to overcook them.
  4. Remove the pot from the heat and add lime juice.

To serve

Transfer to a bowl(s) to serve.

* Galangal & Tom Yum paste are available in most Asian Supermarkets.