Easy Tom Yum Seafood Soup Recipe
This famous one-pot Thai soup is sour, spicy, rich and creamy all in one! With the heavy use of herbs for fragrance and complex flavours, it is perfect for naturally sweet seafood such as prawns, clams, squids and crabs. Better yet, serve it for your party or bring it to a potluck – you’ll wow your guests with how fragrant and vibrant this Tom Yum Seafood Soup!
Though it seems very intimidating at first, it is actually very easy to cook – it only needs 1 stockpot to boil all the ingredients. It’s best to prepare them before starting, so we only need to add them to the pot at different times to cook this Tom Yum Seafood Soup. From start to finish, it takes no more than 30 minutes!
Serves 6 adults.
Ingredients
The most famous Thai dish is Tom Yum, where “Tom” means “boiled” and “Yum” means “to mix”. So essentially, this dish is a Thai soup of multiple ingredients that are boiled together.
Tom Yum Paste, which is the heart and soul of any Tom Yum dish. Made from blending various herbs and spices, before frying until thick and fragrant. It adds a concentrated amount of flavour and colour to the Tom Yum. Tom yum paste can be made from home (here’s the recipe!), or bought directly from the store. I recommend the Tae-Pee brand (below), as I found it to be more fragrant and rich rather than salty. Without it, the dish will take on a clear colour (known as “Tom Som”), instead.
Chicken Stock, for an added richness to the soup. I used my homemade version. For a simpler Tom Yum, plain water works as well.
Any seafood of your choice. I used prawns, clams and squid today. Other types of seafood, such as fish or crabs, can be used as well. If you would prefer to make Chicken Tom Yum, I have a recipe for it as well.
Some vegetables, such as tomatoes and mushrooms with a light flavour. I used tomatoes for sweetness. Mushrooms such as oyster mushrooms and shimeji mushrooms are perfect for Tom Yum as well. As for leafy greens, I went with parsley and spring onions, which are slightly herbal in taste.
Seasonings for the Tom Yum Soup:
Salt, to marinate the seafood, and season the soup.
Sugar, to mellow the spiciness of the soup. The amount can be adjusted as preferred.
Fish sauce, for fragrance and umami-ness. It gives the soup a slightly flavoured saltiness.
Lime, or lime juice, gives a strong, tangy and citrusy flavour to the soup.
Additional herbs are added to release more herbal flavour to the soup:
Lemongrass, for a lovely citrusy fragrance.
Galangal, for a herbal, earthy profile combined with a citrusy fragrance. I used young galangal in this recipe – when sliced thinly, they can also be eaten. Old galangal works too, however as they are quite fibrous, I do not recommend consuming them. If not available, it can be omitted. Do not substitute with ginger, as it is harsher and stronger, and does not mesh well with the soup.
Cilantro roots, for additional fragrance and light earthy taste.
Shallots, for sweetness. If possible, use rose shallots for their lovely fragrance.
Kaffir lime leaves add fragrance to the Tom Yum soup. If not available, it can be omitted.
Bird’s eye chilli, for spiciness. Using more green ones makes the soup less spicy, while more red chillies make it spicier. I also cut them in half for more flavour and taste
Tomato, for sweetness. I added them twice, once in the beginning for super soft tomatoes, and once more towards the middle for slightly firmer ones.
And, lastly, for garnishing:
Deep-fried chillies, both for colour and a crispy, caramelized chilli flavour.
Evaporated milk is an optional condiment that is added for creaminess to the Tom Yum Seafood Soup.
Steps
Here are the brief steps to make Tom Yum Soup:
- Boil the stock with the herbs.
- Marinate the seafood/ meat.
- Stir in the Tom Yum paste.
- Boil the seafood/ meat and mushrooms.
- Season the Tom Yum soup.
- Add the vegetables.
- Switch off the heat.
- Taste and adjust.
- Squeeze in lime juice.
- Garnish with chillies.
- Dish out to individual bowls.
- Pour evaporated milk if preferred.
Tips
- The seafood should only be added when the soup is boiling vigorously, and once added, avoid stirring them. This prevents the fishiness of the seafood from going into the soup.
- Wash the mushrooms just before adding them to the soup to prevent them from becoming slimy.
- Ensure the soup is no longer boiling before adding the lime juice. This prevents the lime juice from turning bitter.
- Add evaporated milk (which is optional) just before serving. This helps keep the Tom Yum longer. Avoid adding the milk when the soup is boiling, to prevent it from becoming curd.
- Make sure to watch the full video to see how I made it exactly!
Storage Instructions
Tom Yum Seafood Soup is best enjoyed immediately after cooking, while it is still warm. As it is dished out into individual serving bowls before adding the optional evaporated milk, any leftovers can be kept in the fridge overnight once cooled.
Make sure to re-heat and adjust the soup with seasonings according to preference. If more lime is needed, make sure the Tom Yum Seafood Soup is no longer boiling before stirring it in.
However, I do not recommend freezing this dish, as over time, freshness of the cooked seafood tends to deteoriate rapidly.
Recipes You Might Like
- Clear Tom Yum Fish Soup – Tom Som Pla
- Authentic & Tantalizing Tom Yum Mee Hoon
- Khao Yum – Rainbow Rice Salad
Easy Seafood Tom Yum Recipe
Equipment
- Sharp Kitchen Knife
- Chopping Board
- stockpot
- Soup Ladle
Ingredients
Herbal Soup
- 1 L chicken stock
- 2 lemongrass, large, cut into half & smashed
- 20 g young galangal, sliced thinly
- 3 cilantro roots, cut from the cilantro stalks
- 60 g shallots, peeled & washed
- 7 kaffir lime leaves, cut into half
- 5 mixed birds eye chillies, cut into half
- 100 g tomato, cut into wedges
Seafood
- 200 g squid, cut into flowers, washed & cleaned
- 150 g clams, washed & cleaned
- 320 g prawns, medium-sized, washed & cleaned
- 3/4 tsp salt, to marinate
Add to the Soup
- 5 tbsp Tom Yum Paste, adjust according to the colour and fragrance
- 200 g oyster mushrooms
- 120 g white shimeji mushrooms, separated to bite-sized pieces
- 80 g tomato, cut into wedges
- 35 g parsley, chopped
- 35 g spring onions, chopped
Seasonings
- 1/2 tsp salt, to taste
- 3/4 tbsp sugar
- 1.5 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp lime juice
Garnish
- 8 deep-fried chillies
- 6 tbsp evaporated milk, 1 tbsp per serving, optional
Instructions
- Prepare all the ingredients.
- Place a stockpot on the stove and set the heat to medium. Pour the stock into the pot, and add the herbs: lemongrass, galangal, cilantro roots, shallots, kaffir lime leaves, bird's eye chillies, and 100g tomato wedges. Give the soup a gentle stir. Cover the pot and let it come to a rolling boil, for about 4 minutes.
- While waiting, marinate the seafood. Marinate the squid flowers with 1/4 tsp of salt, rubbing to distribute it evenly. The clams do not need to be marinated, but they should be washed thoroughly.
- Remove the horns, whiskers and legs from the prawns. Devein them by piercing the back of the prawns perpendicularly with a toothpick, in between the second and third last shell. Pull the vein out gently and discard it. Then, cut the back of the prawn to make it easy to remove the shells once cooked. Repeat for all the prawns. Then, marinate them with 1/4 tsp of salt on each side. Set the seafood aside.
- When the soup is boiling vigorously, add the Tom Yum Paste, stirring until it is well combined. Then, let it come to a rolling boil.
- Once the Tom Yum soup is boiling vigorously again, wash the mushrooms.
- Add the squid and clams. Gently add each of the prawns to the surface of the soup, followed by oyster mushrooms and white shimeji mushrooms. Do not stir the pot once the seafood has been added to prevent the soup from becoming fishy. Cover the pot and let it boil for 2 minutes.
- Open the cover and rotate the mushrooms so they are submerged in the soup. As all the seafood will be cooked by now, give the soup a taste. This helps us to adjust the seasonings as preferred.
- Add the seasonings: 1/2 tap of salt, sugar and fish sauce. Stir until they are well combined.
- Add the tomato wedges, parsley, and spring onions. Switch off the heat. Stir the soup and submerge the vegetables.
- Taste and adjust as preferred.
- Add lime juice, and stir gently to combine. Garnish with deep-fried chillies. Dish it out to individual bowls. Just before serving, garnish with parsley and spring onions and pour the evaporated milk all around the bowl.
Notes
- The seafood should only be added when the soup is boiling vigorously, and once added, avoid stirring them. This prevents the fishiness of the seafood from going into the soup.
- Wash the mushrooms just before adding them to the soup to prevent them from becoming slimy.
- Ensure the soup is no longer boiling before adding the lime juice. This prevents the lime juice from turning bitter.
- Add evaporated milk (which is optional) just before serving. This helps keep the Tom Yum longer. Avoid adding the milk when the soup is boiling, to prevent it from becoming curd.
- Make sure to watch the full video to see how I made it exactly!