Thai Hot and Sour Prawn Soup

Name: Thai Hot and Sour Prawn Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 3 cups chicken stock; 3 stalks lemon grass ((crushed with the back of your knife)); 6 slices galangal ((Thai ginger)); 4 kaffir limes leaves (torn in half – remove stem); 1-3 chilies (fresh or dried (crushed if you want them hot)); 2 tomatoes (cut into quarters); 4 oz mushrooms (shimeji (or mushrooms of choice)); 1 shallot shallot ( cut into quarters); 2 tbsp fish sauce; 2 tsp brown sugar ( or sugar alternative of choice); 8-10 prawns (peeled and deveined (can substitute large shrimp, seafood, tofu, or even chicken if you wish)); 3 tsp lime juice; 2 tbsp cilantro ((coriander) for garnish - optional)

Published: Apr 17, 2019 · Modified: May 16, 2022 by HWC Magazine · 34 Comments

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Thai Hot and Sour Prawn Soup also known as Tom Yum Goong is a fragrant, spicy and sour soup flavor explosion made with authentic Thai ingredients.

If you like spicy food, you have finally found your match. Thai Hot and sour Prawn Soup packs a big punch of heat. There is absolutely nothing mild about the heat or flavoring aromatics of this recipe. Those little Thai bird chilis might be little but they are quite mighty whether you enjoy them in a Healthy Chicken Lettuce Wrap or in a soup.

You are going to love Thai Hot and Sour Prawn Soup because its spicy, sour, savory and balanced with a little sweet. Like all Thai Cuisine recipes, the balance here is key to a delicious soup.

Thai Hot and Sour Prawn Soup in a brown bowl

Jump to:

Do you know what Tom Yum Goong means?
Different Flavor Sensors on Tongue
Traditional Thai Ingredients
Exchanges and Substitutions
Freeze Fresh Thai Herbs and Spices
How to prepare kaffir lime leaves?
Smart Cook Thai Cookery School in Chiang Mai, Thailand
More Thai Cuisine Recipes
Thai Hot and Sour Prawn Soup

Do you know what Tom Yum Goong means?

In Thai “Tom” means to boil “Yum” is salad as it has some of the same aromatics as a salad. “Goong” means prawns. So loosely translated it is a boiled salad with prawns… LOL. There are a couple different versions of Tom Yum Soup. Sometimes, there will be the addition of coconut milk.

If one swaps the out the prawns with fish or chicken, they will have correlated names and the ingredients will differ slightly. Today, we are making a clear broth Tom Yum Goong without coconut milk.

Tom Yum Goong garnished with coriander in a brown bowl.

Different Flavor Sensors on Tongue

You taste salty on the tip of tongue and edges of the front of your tongue.
Sweet sensors are located in the front of your tongue.
Sour taste buds are located on the sides of the tongue.
The back of your tongue senses bitter.

If you take a sip of Thai Hot and Sour Prawn Soup you will initially taste the salty on the tip of your tongue, the lime on the sides and heat just everywhere… The sweet helps to balance to heat and the salty components of this soup. If you love Thai Flavors, be sure to try our Thai Firecracker Shrimp Party Appetizer, Prik Nam Pla and Thai Cuisine recipes.

Traditional Thai Ingredients

There are a handful of ingredients that are essential to Thai cooking.

Kaffir Lime leaves – The crushed leaves emit an intense citrus aroma

Lemongrass – culinary and medicinal cooling herb that smells like fresh lemons

Galangal – cooling herb that is very firm and difficult to chop but is very zesty and aromatic – different than ginger

Thai chili peppers – SPICY FIRE

Shallots – aromatic

Fish sauce – adds a deep blend of savory notes to the recipe

Fresh limes – adds a delightful sour note to Hot and Sour Prawn Soup – only add after you turn the heat off.

Kaffir lime leaves, chilis, and other aromatics in a soup pot.

Exchanges and Substitutions

Fresh limes, fish sauce, shallots and lemongrass are pretty readily available in most places.

If you are struggling finding lemongrass, you can also use the squeeze version in the refrigerated section of your grocery store. Fresh is always preferred. However, in a pinch, this works well.
It is more difficult to locate kaffir lime leaves, galangal and Thai Chili peppers. Many whole foods stores and specialty stores sell kaffir lime leaves online. Some stores sell dried whole kaffir limes too. In a pinch, use the zest of a fresh lime but only add at the end of the cooking process so it does not become bitter.
Some people will add fresh grated ginger or ½ amount of dried ground ginger. However, please note that ginger is a warming spice and galangal is a cooling spice so they will create a different flavor profile in your recipe.
If you can find Thai Bird chilis, use the chilis you have access to. Enjoy and adjust amount for the Scoville heat index. If all else fails, skip all the additions and just add a huge dose of Thai Red Curry paste and call it a day!

Two Tom yum goong soup bowls laid on top of bamboo leaves with fresh chilis, kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass around.

Freeze Fresh Thai Herbs and Spices

We absolutely love visiting the Asian Market and getting our fresh traditional supplies. As they always package up way more than you will use for one meal, we freeze the ingredients. Then, just take out of freezer to unthaw as needed.

This method works fabulous for kaffir lime leaves, chili, sliced galangal and lemongrass, just to name a few. Check out our post on Essential Thai Herbs and Spices to learn more.

How to prepare kaffir lime leaves?

If you just drop the whole kaffir lime leaves into your soup pot, they will not release any flavor. The best way we have found to get the fragrant oils out of the kaffir lime leaves is to fold in half along the stem and remove the stem. This works like a charm. You may also tear or crush the kaffir lime leaves, if you prefer.

Holding a kaffir lime leaf to show the stem that needs to be removed to release all the flavor into the soup.

Smart Cook Thai Cookery School in Chiang Mai, Thailand

We originally posted this recipe in January 2012 after a trip to Chiang Mai. Since then, we have been to Thailand more times than we can count and have made this Thai Hot and Prawn Soup on numerous occasions.

If you ever visit Chiang Mai, we had a delightful time at the Smart Cook Thai Cookery School in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Their staff is very knowledgeable, and it is well coordinated. Unlike many cooking classes where you stand back and watch, this one you do everything and have your own wok station.

After all…you can only do so many temple tours.

More Thai Cuisine Recipes

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