Tom Yum Mushroom

This fiery, earthy herbal soup is a front runner when it comes to Most Famous/ Favoured Thai dishes of all time, along with Pad Thai, Thai Green Curry, and Massaman curry.

Don't be fooled by how innocent and simple this bowl of soup may look. Inside, lies an explosion of flavours. Many favour this dish for its health benefits and extraordinary aroma.

You will need:

2 dried chillies,
snipped with scissors

60 grams lemongrass,
cut into 1 inch pieces
and bruised with a side of a knife

4-5 fresh chillies,
cut like so

30 grams galangal,
sliced

4-5 kaffir lime leaves,
torn

a handful of chopped
chainsaw coriander,
which can be substituted with Thai sweet basil

400 grams assorted mushrooms

1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons
freshly squeezed lime juice,
and a slice of lime as garnish (optional)

7 cups water,
can use Fiji water to make it fancy (?)

1 tablespoon light soy sauce,
Please note:
​the darker the sauce,
the darker the soup becomes;
so, choose wisely.

1 teaspoon sea salt

1-2 tablespoons mushroom sauce

1 mushroom stock cube *

* This is the photo of the mushroom stock cube package that I used. You may use any brand or any kind that you feel comfortable with, but this is what I like and it does enhance the flavours in this dish as it is mushroom based. 


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Preparations:

1. Add all the fresh ingredients, except for the chopped chainsaw coriander, and water into a pot or a wok (if you haven't figured it out by now, I use a wok for almost everything) on medium high heat.






2. Bring to a boil and simmer for 7-8 minutes before dropping a mushroom stock cube into the pot; then, add seasoning: light soy sauce, salt, mushroom sauce. Do not add fresh lime juice just yet because the heat from boiling soup will cook the juice, and it will lose the sourness as a result.






3. Add mushrooms and stir. Simmer for another 8-10 minutes

4. The final taste test: season to taste with salt. If you were to add more light soy sauce and mushroom sauce, you could do so, but make sure they're not going to affect the beautiful colour of the clear broth we aimed for.

5. Once you're satisfied with the flavours, remove the pot from heat and rest it on a towel. Add the chopped chainsaw coriander and stir for a few more minutes (to lower the temperature) before adding lime juice. You may want to start off with 1 tablespoon and work your way up. There's nothing worse than Tom Yum that has only one flavour- sharp sourness.

6. Aaaaand you're done! Serve hot/ warm with rice or vermicelli or enjoy it as an appetizer.

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​- Mook x