Cooking in

North Vancouver · Metro Vancouver

Nearest city · Vancouver Change

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.

‹Swipe for the next dish›

Serves4

Total25 min

Within reach0of 6 in North Vancouver

Six not yet within reach.

How the 6 are reached

Not yet within reach: 6 · lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, tamarind paste, palm sugar, cilantro leaves

Cook

‹ Previous · Tom Yam (Hot and Sour Soup)|Next · Tom Yum Kung — Classic Prawn Hot-Sour Soup / ต้มยำกุ้ง ›

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 · ThailandNot yet within reach of North Vancouver · each reach is counted

4 slices

galangal

fresh, 3 mm thick

Not yet within reach of North Vancouver · each reach is counted

kaffir lime leaves

torn

Not yet within reach of North Vancouver · each reach is counted

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

Not yet within reach of North Vancouver · each reach is counted

3 tablespoons

fish sauce

nam pla

Your own market

10 ml

palm sugar

Origin · IndonesiaNot yet within reach of North Vancouver · each reach is counted

2 tablespoons

fresh lime juice

Your own market

Cilantro leaves

for garnish

Not yet within reach of North Vancouver · each reach is counted

Scallions

sliced thin, for garnish

Your own market

Within reach counts in town, delivered, shipped and the nearest city. A staple counts once it has a local seller. Charted from each shop's own pages; not yet vouched by a cook who shops here.

The larder of North Vancouver →

The Method

Bring stock to boil in pot over high heat.

Add chilies, lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves; simmer 5 minutes to infuse aromatics.

Add shrimp and mushrooms; simmer 3–4 minutes until shrimp are opaque and mushrooms are tender.

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 →

Remove from heat; adjust seasoning with lime juice, adding more tamarind or fish sauce to balance sour and salty notes.

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.

Enter · from $49 a year