My hometown in the mountainous region of Northern Thailand, seafood are rare and very expensive, so we use chicken when we make tom yum soup. But Thailand’s most famous soup is traditionally made with prawns or seafood, and that’s how it’s served in just about every Thai restaurant in the world. Whenever we had a get-together of locals and friends for dinner, there would always be a soup involved, and this would be the recipe of choice. Most non-Thais think tom yum soup is a starter, but for us, it’s definitely a main star of the meal. For this recipe, I’ve added a twist and turned it into a noodle soup, making it the perfect meal for one or two any time of the day.
Ingredients
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500ml (17fl oz) stock or water
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2 slices of galangal
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1 lemongrass stalk, sliced into 2.5cm (1 inch) pieces
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2 red chillies, sliced
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1 coriander root, whole (or 5 coriander stalks, chopped)
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6 king prawns, or any mixed seafood of your choice!
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20g button mushrooms, thinly sliced (if preferred)
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2 tablespoons coconut milk (or milk)
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2 tablespoons fish sauce
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3 tablespoons lime juice
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3 cherry tomatoes, halved
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300g rice noodles, cooked per packet instructions
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Handful of coriander leaves, chopped, to garnish
Method
- Bring the stock or water to the boil with the galangal, lemongrass, chillies and coriander root in a saucepan set over a high heat.
- Stir in the chilli paste, coconut milk, fish sauce and lime juice and mix well.
- Add the seafood and mushrooms, if using, and cook on high heat for a couple of minutes until they are cooked through.
- Add the tomatoes and coriander just before you're ready to serve.
- Spoon the soup over the cooked rice noodles, garnish with chopped coriander and serve immediately.
- Drizzle with roasted chilli oil for added spice, if preferred.
