Hot & Sour Prawn Soup (Tom Yum Goong)

A clear, fiery broth of lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime with juicy prawns, mushrooms and a sharp squeeze of lime.

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

Ingredients

  • 400g raw shell-on king prawns
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 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 button or oyster mushrooms, halved
  • 2 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
  • 4 bird's eye chillies, lightly bruised
  • 1 tbsp Thai roasted chilli paste (nam prik pao)
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce
  • 3 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 2 spring onions, sliced
  • small handful fresh coriander leaves

Method

  1. Peel the prawns, leaving the tails on, and set the heads and shells aside. Devein the prawns and keep them chilled.

  2. Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium-high heat. Fry the prawn shells and heads for 3 minutes until bright orange, pressing the heads to release their juices.

  3. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Add the lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves, then simmer gently for 10 minutes.

  4. Strain the broth through a sieve into a clean pan, discarding the shells. Return to a simmer and add the mushrooms, tomatoes and chillies. Cook for 3 minutes.

  5. Stir in the chilli paste, fish sauce and sugar, then add the prawns and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until pink and just cooked through.

  6. Take the pan off the heat and add the lime juice. Taste: it should be hot, sour and salty in equal measure.

  7. Ladle into bowls and scatter over the spring onions and coriander. The lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves are for flavour and are not eaten.