PProvenance
Enter
Cooking in
Sidney · Greater Victoria
Nearest city · Victoria 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 reach5of 9 in Sidney

Three in town · two shipped · three elsewhere in British Columbia · one not yet within reach.

How the 9 are reached
In town
3 · thai bird's eye chilies, straw mushrooms, fresh lime juice
Shipped to you
2 · lemongrass, palm sugar
Elsewhere in British Columbia
3 · galangal, tamarind paste, cilantro leaves
Not yet within reach
1 · kaffir lime leaves
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
3 stalks
lemongrass
white part only, bruised and cut 2 cm lengths
2
kaffir lime leaves
torn
Not yet within reach of Sidney · each reach is counted
250 g
large shrimp
peeled, deveined
Your own market
100 g
straw mushrooms
whole or halved if large
3 tablespoons
fish sauce
nam pla
Your own market
10 ml
palm sugar
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 Sidney →

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

Pouring for British Columbia · ·

The pairing
1897 Amber Ale
Stanley Park Brewing · Metro Vancouver
Stanley Park Brewing · Vancouver →
Beer
From British Columbia
Beldame
Strange Fellows Brewing · Metro Vancouver
Strange Fellows Brewing · Vancouver →
Beer lager
Without alcohol
Loop Lime Lemon Sour
BSA (Brasserie St-Antoine)
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
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 pairing
Pillar VI
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year