Cooking in
New South Wales
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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Cook
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
Origin · Thailand
4 slices
galangal
fresh, 3 mm thick
2
kaffir lime leaves
torn
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
Origin · Indonesia
2 tablespoons
fresh lime juice
Your own market
Cilantro leaves
for garnish
Scallions
sliced thin, for garnish
Your own market
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
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V
What to Pour
The pairing
Beer
From New South Wales
Nothing from New South Wales holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
Non-alcoholic
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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