INGREDIENTS: for 4 people
4 cups of shrimp stock/chicken stock/water
1 stick of lemongrass (smash it with the back of your knife & cut into smaller sections)
galangal: not substitutable with ginger, the former is cooling while the latter is hot (8 thin rounds)
5-6 lime leaves (tear them to release their flavour into the soup)
2 chilli padi (or more): crushed, or sliced
Oyster mushroom/Enoki/Shimeji (don’t use button mushroom, they don’t do well in this dish)
8 or more prawns (butterfly them) -> can save head for making shrimp stock or just leave it for aesthetic
3 tbsp of fish sauce
1/2 cup of lime juice (2-3 juicy limes)
1-2 tsp of sugar
3-4 tbsp of thai chilli paste: chilli paste with soya bean oil (optional) -> usually used for tom yam goong only because it is made from shrimp do not use it for other types of tom yam e.g. chicken, fish
METHOD:
- Put the shrimp stock, lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves & chilli padi into a pot, and bring it to a boil
- Add the oyster mushrooms
- Add the prawns -> the moment they change colour, turn off the flame you don’t want to overcook the prawns
- Add lime juice (don’t cook it will ruin the flavour)
- Add fish sauce
- Add sugar
- Add thai chilli paste ( i didn’t add it because i didn’t have it)
- Stir well and taste before serving because every brands of fish sauce has different saltiness and every lime has different acidity especially when cooking soup a lot of variables go into it like the amount of water that evaporates so always taste and adjust accordingly:)
VERDICT
A lovely combination of sour & spicy!
