Hot & Sour Chicken Soup (Tom Yum Gai)

A creamy, tangy chicken soup enriched with evaporated milk and roasted chilli paste, perfumed with lemongrass and lime leaf.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 25 min
Total: 45 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

  • 400g boneless skinless chicken thighs, thinly sliced
  • 1.2 litres chicken stock
  • 3 lemongrass stalks, bruised and cut into 5cm lengths
  • 5cm fresh galangal, thinly sliced
  • 6 kaffir lime leaves, torn
  • 200g oyster or button mushrooms, torn
  • 2 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
  • 4 bird's eye chillies, lightly bruised
  • 2 tbsp Thai roasted chilli paste (nam prik pao)
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce
  • 3 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 4 tbsp evaporated milk
  • 3 spring onions, sliced
  • small handful fresh coriander leaves

Method

  1. Bring the stock to the boil in a large saucepan. Add the lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

  2. Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes, skimming off any foam, until the chicken is almost cooked through.

  3. Add the mushrooms, tomatoes and chillies and simmer for 3 minutes.

  4. Stir in the chilli paste, fish sauce and sugar until the broth turns a rusty orange.

  5. Take the pan off the heat. Stir in the lime juice and evaporated milk. Taste and adjust with more fish sauce, lime or chilli.

  6. Ladle into bowls and top with the spring onions and coriander. The lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves are not eaten.