Tom Yam Kung. Delicious Thai prawn soup

For 4 € 4.8 /pers. 211 kcal/100g

Asian gastronomy can offer a lot of exotic flavors that surprise our palate with ingredients that we are used to and novelties that we do not usually see on our plates. The recipe that we bring today is great news for those unconditional lovers of oriental flavors: today we are going to talk to you about Tom Yam Kung , a classic Thai soup recipe in its national cuisine.

Tom Yam Kung is a prawn soup with a spicy and citrus touch. For those who are more experts in oriental cuisine, this seafood recipe may remind them of the delicious Malaysian recipe for curry laksa , a curry and prawn soup with a powerful flavor. In this case, Tom Yam Kung does not contain curry , but it does have a spicy touch that we can adjust to our taste by adding more or less chili or varying how we prepare it.

The flavors that we will find in this delight are similar to those of Pad Thai , acidic and spicy notes, a touch of fish, but, above all, a spectacular combination that makes all the components of the recipe stand out. In a certain sense, we could say that it is a super potent version of our traditional seafood soup , adapted for oriental tastes.

If you have enjoyed other Asian recipes on the blog such as ramen , chicken tikka masala , or shabu shabu , it is time to give this Thai recipe a try. Many thanks to Dani and Kesanee Chumpradith @its_me_kade8669 for teaching me to taste and appreciate this soup, a big fan of this couple and Thai cuisine, they are still waiting for you to send me the recipe for Thai pork (the photo at the end of the recipe, also delicious ).

Preparation of Tom Yam Kung

1. The first thing we will do is peel the garlic and crush it with the help of a knife. We will do the same with the chilies. By crushing them and not mashing them, we will get a less spicy soup. If we want to increase the degree of spiciness of our Yam Kung tom, we can choose to mash them.
2. Now we are going to crush the lemongrass a little and cut it into pieces of approximately one centimeter. We chop the cilantro and, if we have managed to find it, we cut the galangal into thin slices.
3. If the mushrooms that we are going to use for our soup are large, as in the case of oyster mushrooms, we will cut them in half.
4. When we have the vegetables ready, we will put a pot on the heat with the chicken broth. While the broth is boiling, in a separate bowl we are going to prepare the mixture of flavors that will give an intense touch to our soup, adding 100 ml. of coconut milk, chili paste and lime juice. We stir the contents of the bowl well and reserve for later.
5. Once the broth is boiling, we add all the vegetables that we had prepared (except for the mushrooms) and some makrut or kaffir lime leaves, a very characteristic ingredient of Thai cuisine that we can find in spice stores or specialized stores. Asian products. We also add 300 ml of coconut milk.
6. When it comes to a boil again, add the mushrooms and let it cook for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. When the two minutes have passed, we are going to add the prawns and cook for another minute, stirring the pot. Then we put out the fire.
8. The last thing will be to add the mixture that we had reserved in the bowl, which will give it a very characteristic touch of color and flavor. In addition, it is advisable to add a little chopped cilantro to decorate and enhance the flavors of our soup.

You see that the preparation is not very complicated, and the result is an explosion of flavor that our palate is not usually used to. If you want to reduce the level of spiciness, don’t hesitate to reduce the amount of chilies you use.

One of the secrets of this soup is, without a doubt, the delicious touch of the prawn. If you want to enjoy this wonder of the sea in other recipes, some good ideas are chickpeas with prawns , prawns with garlic or mushroom and prawn risotto , culinary genius with flavors very different from today’s recipe, but that also shine for yes alone.