Dish · thai
Tom Yum Goong
A hot and sour prawn soup built on lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaf, sharpened with lime juice and fish sauce, clear or made creamy with added chili paste.
Where it comes from
The soup developed as a fisherman's dish using river prawns and readily available aromatics, and its clear, sour style split into a creamier version once evaporated milk or chili paste became common additions.
What cooks argue about
Cooks argue over clear versus creamy: nam sai stays clear and sharply sour, while nam khon adds evaporated milk or chili jam for body, and purists debate whether the richness masks the soup's sourness.
Versions
Nobody has published a tom yum goong here yet. When somebody cooks one from a video and publishes it, their version appears in this list, with a link back to the original.
What goes in it
Each one opens everything else made with it.
lemongrass
galangal
kaffir lime leaves