Tom Yam soup was invented in Thailand, where this spicy and sour shrimp dish is one of the most popular and delicious dishes. It can be easily prepared at home, having previously bought all the necessary ingredients, which today can be obtained in many supermarkets.
Soup ingredients
For two servings of Thai Tom Yam Soup, you will need 12 large shrimp, one lime juice, one ginger root, 2 lemongrass pods, 6 kafir lime leaves, 1 small bunch of cilantro, 1 medium tomato, and 1 small onion. You also need to prepare 100 grams of fresh oyster mushrooms or mushrooms, 5 small chili peppers, 1 teaspoon of Tom Yam soup paste, 1.5 tablespoons of fish sauce, 2 cups of water and salt to taste.
When choosing fish sauce, it is important not to confuse it with oyster sauce, which is not suitable for this dish.
The shrimp must be peeled by removing the black intestine and leaving the tail. The top layer of lemongrass is removed, the tip is cut off, then the lemongrass is cut diagonally into small pieces and the white part is crushed with a knife. The onion should be cut into several large pieces, and the ginger should be cut into 3 mm thick slices.
In mushrooms, the stem is removed, after which large specimens are cut into several parts, and small ones are left intact. Tomatoes are cut into 8 pieces, a vein is removed from lime leaves, and cilantro is coarsely chopped with a sharp knife. The chili is crushed with a knife and cut into small pieces.
Cooking Tom Yam soup
Ginger, lime leaves, lemongrass and onions are placed in the boiling broth, after which the heat is reduced and the broth is boiled under a lid for 3-4 minutes, during which it is saturated with the aromas of herbs. Then all the herbs and onions should be removed from the pan and the mushrooms should be quickly boiled in it - literally for a minute so that they do not have time to boil, after which they should be laid out in preheated bowls. Fish sauce, chili paste and shrimps are added to the broth, which are removed from the pan immediately after turning pink and placed with the mushrooms.
When boiling shrimps, it is very important to get them out of the broth in time so that they do not become crooked and "rubbery", but acquire tenderness and a unique taste.
Then turn off the heat and add the chili peppers, lime juice and salt to the broth. Cilantro and tomatoes are placed in bowls with shrimps and mushrooms, which are poured over with a sour, spicy and aromatic broth that has absorbed all the shades of ingredients cooked in it. Ready "Tom Yam" is served with Thai jasmine rice. When preparing this soup, it is important to remember that it is cooked only for one meal, is not stored in the refrigerator and is not reheated a second time, and certainly not prepared in large pots in reserve, since this is a single-use dish.
