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Central Thailand (Chao Phraya River basin) · Thai

Tom Yum Goong (Thai Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup)

Thailand's most famous soup — a fiercely aromatic broth of lemongrass, galangal and makrut lime, sharpened with lime juice and loaded with plump shrimp. Ready in about 35 minutes and brighter than anything a takeout container can hold.

By Table & Traditions Editors

Published July 9, 2026

A bowl of tom yum goong with plump pink shrimp, straw mushrooms and a glossy orange broth, lemongrass and makrut lime leaves visible, garnished with cilantro.

Tom yum — 'tom' to boil, 'yum' the hot-sour-salty flavour balance — grew out of Central Thailand's Chao Phraya basin, where freshwater prawns were abundant. The shrimp version, tom yum goong, became the country's culinary calling card as Thai restaurants spread worldwide in the late 20th century.

Yield
Serves 4
Prep
15 min
Cook
20 min
Total
35 min
Difficulty
Easy

Tom yum goong is Thailand’s flavour thesis in a bowl: hot, sour, salty and fragrant all at once, with nothing rich to hide behind. Born in Central Thailand’s Chao Phraya River basin — where freshwater prawns once ran thick enough to make them everyday food — this hot and sour shrimp soup became the country’s global calling card as Thai kitchens spread around the world. The good news is that the restaurant version is not a trick. It’s a 35-minute soup with one honest shortcut refused: the stock comes from the shrimp shells you were about to throw away.

The tom yum trinity

Three aromatics make tom yum smell like tom yum: lemongrass, galangal and makrut lime leaves. They’re simmered whole — smashed, sliced and torn, never blended — so they perfume the broth and stay out of the spoon. Galangal is the one people are tempted to swap for ginger; don’t. Its resinous, almost piney sharpness is the soup’s signature, and frozen galangal from any Asian grocery works beautifully. (Fair warning to guests: the lemongrass and galangal pieces are bones of the dish, not bites of it.)

Nam prik pao, the missing depth

The ingredient most home versions skip is nam prik pao, Thailand’s roasted chili paste — chilies, garlic and shallots charred and pounded with tamarind and palm sugar. Two spoonfuls dissolve into the broth and turn it glossy, smoky and sunset-orange. Without it you have a decent herbal shrimp soup; with it you have tom yum goong.

Lime goes in last, off the heat

Every step in this soup points toward the final one: the lime juice is stirred in only after the pot leaves the flame. Boiled lime turns dull and faintly bitter; added off the heat it stays electric, which is exactly what a soup built on brightness needs. Taste at the end and tune the triangle — fish sauce for salt, lime for sour, chilies already doing their work.

If tom yum lights you up, keep going with a Thai green curry or the street-stall classic pad krapow gai, and read more in our Southeast Asian cooking guide.

Ingredients

Serves
4

For the broth

  • 500 g (about 1 lb) large shrimp, shell-on Head-on if you can find them — the heads and shells make the stock. Peel, keep every shell, and devein the meat.
  • 5 cups water or light chicken stock
  • 3 stalks lemongrass Bottom two-thirds only, cut into 2-inch pieces and smashed. Skip powdered lemongrass — the aroma is flat and it leaves sediment.
  • 10–12 thin slices galangal Fresh or frozen. Don't substitute ginger — galangal's piney, resinous sharpness is the smell of tom yum.
  • 6 makrut lime leaves Torn in half to release their oils; stem removed.

For the soup

  • 200 g oyster or straw mushrooms Torn or halved. Straw mushrooms are traditional; oyster mushrooms are the best fresh stand-in.
  • 3–6 Thai bird's eye chilies Smashed, not chopped, so they perfume the broth without turning it molten. Scale to your heat tolerance.
  • 2 tbsp nam prik pao (Thai roasted chili paste) The sweet-smoky paste that gives the broth its depth and reddish sheen. Pantai and Maepranom are reliable jars.
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce
  • 4–5 tbsp fresh lime juice From about 3 limes. Bottled juice will hollow out the whole dish.
  • 2 roma tomatoes, cut into wedges Optional but common; they add gentle sweetness and colour.

To finish

  • A handful cilantro, roughly chopped

Method

Tap a step’s number to check it off as you go.

  1. Peel and devein the shrimp, keeping the shells and heads. Simmer the shells in the water over medium heat for 10 minutes, pressing the heads with a spoon, then strain and return the stock to the pot.

    Why: The shells and heads carry most of a shrimp's flavour. This ten-minute stock is what separates a restaurant-depth tom yum from a watery one.

  2. Bring the stock to a boil and add the smashed lemongrass, galangal slices and torn lime leaves. Simmer for 5 minutes.

    Why: Bruising and simmering — not blending — releases the aromatics' oils while keeping the broth clear. These three herbs are the non-negotiable tom yum trinity.

  3. Add the mushrooms, tomatoes and smashed chilies and simmer 3–4 minutes until the mushrooms are tender.

  4. Stir in the nam prik pao and fish sauce until the paste dissolves and the broth turns a glossy sunset orange.

    Why: Nam prik pao is the ingredient most Western versions skip — its roasted chilies, garlic and shallots give the broth its signature depth and slick of red oil.

  5. Drop in the shrimp and cook just 1–2 minutes, until they curl and turn pink. Kill the heat immediately.

    Why: Shrimp overcook in the time it takes to find a ladle. Residual heat finishes them perfectly.

  6. Off the heat, stir in the lime juice, taste, and adjust — more fish sauce for salt, more lime for brightness. Serve scattered with cilantro.

    Why: Lime juice boiled in the pot goes dull and bitter. Adding it off the heat is the single most important move in tom yum — it keeps the soup tasting alive.

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Variations

  • Creamy (nam khon)

    Stir in 1/2 cup evaporated milk (not coconut milk — that's a different soup) with the nam prik pao for the cloudy, richer Bangkok-style version.

  • Tom yum talay

    Swap in a mix of squid, mussels and firm white fish with the shrimp for the seafood-house version.

  • Vegetarian

    Use vegetable stock, extra mushrooms and firm tofu; season with soy sauce and a vegetarian chili paste in place of fish sauce and nam prik pao.

Serving & Storage

Serve steaming hot with jasmine rice on the side — spoon the broth over the rice as you go — or as the fiery opener to a Thai spread.

Pairs with: Jasmine rice, Pad krapow gai, Thai iced tea, Pad pak ruam.

Storage: The broth keeps 2 days refrigerated, but store the shrimp separately and add the lime juice fresh on reheating — both fade fast. Not freezer-friendly.

Nutrition

Per serving (1 bowl (about 350 ml))

Calories
165
Protein
21 g
Carbs
9 g
Fat
5 g
Fiber
2 g
Sugar
4 g
Sodium
1150 mg

Notable micronutrients: Selenium, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Iodine

Estimated using standard ingredient data. Values vary with brands and substitutions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between tom yum nam sai and nam khon?

Nam sai is the clear, older style — just the aromatic broth. Nam khon adds evaporated milk and extra nam prik pao for a creamy, orange-hued version popular in Bangkok. This recipe makes nam sai; the creamy variation takes one extra step.

Can I substitute ginger for galangal?

No — they look related but taste nothing alike. Galangal is piney, citrusy and sharp, and it's half the aroma of tom yum. Most Asian groceries sell it fresh or frozen; frozen works perfectly in soup.

Is tom yum goong healthy?

The clear nam sai version is one of the lightest famous dishes in the world — about 165 calories a bowl, high in protein, with most of its sodium coming from fish sauce. The creamy nam khon version adds a modest amount of fat from evaporated milk.

What to drink with this

All drinks →

Hand-picked pours to match this dish. Alcoholic pairings are for adults of legal drinking age (21+ in the US) — please drink responsibly.

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