Tom Yam (Hot and Sour Soup)

Tom yam is central Thai in origin but has variations across all regions. The name: tom (to boil) + yam (mixed, combined — the same word as the mixed salad preparations). The combination of the infused broth and the fresh acid finish is ancient; it appears in the earliest Thai culinary manuscripts. Thompson traces it through the palace cuisine where it appeared as a refined preparation before its adoption as a preparation of every table.

A clear or slightly cloudy hot and sour soup — the preparation that many outside Thailand take as the defining flavour of Thai cooking, and that Thai cooks take as the demonstration of the country's most fundamental flavour philosophy. Tom yam is not a recipe but a principle: a hot broth intensely flavoured with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, chilli, and fish sauce, soured with lime at the last moment, with the protein (typically prawns — tom yam kung) added only seconds before service. Every element except the broth is added at different temperatures: the aromatics infused in hot stock; the chilli providing heat that builds; the lime juice added off heat, cold, for its fresh aromatic character; the fresh herbs (coriander leaf) scattered at the last moment. The preparation is assembled, not cooked.

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