Tom yum
hot and sour Thai soup
Tom yum or tom yam (UK: , US: ; Thai: ต้มยำ, RTGS: tom yam [tôm jām] ) is a family of hot and sour Thai soups. The name tom yam is composed of two words in the Thai language: tom refers to the boiling process, while yam means "mixed".
Historian Giles Milton contends that the origins of tom yum can be traced back to India, where there is a variation of hot and sour shrimp soup known as sour prawn soup. In Thailand, tom yam is available in various types, with the most popular being tom yam nam khon (creamy tom yam soup), and tom yam nam sai (clear tom yam soup). This soup features a variety of main ingredients, including shrimp, pork, chicken, and seafood.
Preparation
The soup base depends on the exact sub-type but is generally water, coconut milk, or chicken or other broth.
Various aromatic ingredients are sliced, roughly pounded, and simmered to extract their flavor. These include fresh ingredients such as lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, and chilis. For shrimp-based soups, shrimp shells and heads may also be simmered, to extract their flavor. These ingredients are often then removed as their flavor is now extracted and many are not edible.
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