Cooking in
British Columbia
Thai · Thailand
Tom Yam Kung
Tom yam kung (spicy prawn soup) is the most internationally famous Thai soup — hot, sour, and aromatic. The broth is clear and intensely flavoured with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaf, and bird's eye chillies. It is not a cream soup — tom yam nam kon (creamy version with evaporated milk) is a variation; the original is clear, bold, and uncompromising.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
1 liter
chicken or vegetable stock
Your own market
4–5
Thai bird's eye chilies
whole or split
Your own market
3 stalks
lemongrass
white part only, bruised and cut 2 cm lengths
4 slices
2
kaffir lime leaves
torn
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
250 g
large shrimp
peeled, deveined
Your own market
100 g
straw mushrooms
whole or halved if large
Your own market
3 tablespoons
tamarind paste
3 tablespoons
fish sauce
nam pla
Your own market
10 ml
palm sugar
2 tablespoons
fresh lime juice
Your own market
Scallions
sliced thin, for garnish
Your own market
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Bring stock to boil in pot over high heat.
2
Add chilies, lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves; simmer 5 minutes to infuse aromatics.
3
Add shrimp and mushrooms; simmer 3–4 minutes until shrimp are opaque and mushrooms are tender.
4
Stir in tamarind paste, fish sauce, and palm sugar; simmer 2 minutes to meld flavors.
From the canon — Fish sauce — nam pla — is the universal salt of the Thai kitchen. Fish Sauce (Nam Pla): Selection and Use →
5
Remove from heat; adjust seasoning with lime juice, adding more tamarind or fish sauce to balance sour and salty notes.
6
Ladle into bowls; garnish with cilantro leaves and scallions; serve immediately.
III
Sensory Tests
◇Where it lives or dies. The moment where tom yam lives or dies is the final balance check. Before serving, taste the broth: it should be simultaneously hot (chilli), sour (lime), salty (fish sauce), and aromatic (lemongrass-galangal-kaffir lime). If any element is absent or dominant, adjust. Add lime juice for more sour. Add fish sauce for more salt. Add more bruised chilli for heat. Add a bruised lemongrass stalk for more aroma. The balance is not fixed — it is arrived at fresh each time.
Pillar IV
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
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V
What to Pour
The pairing
Beer
From British Columbia
Beer lager
Without alcohol
Non-alcoholic
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VI
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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The working kitchen
Sourced through Provenance