Tom yum soup recipe, an easy vegetarian version of the popular Thai soup – Tom Yum soup recipe – with mushrooms, onions, and other vegetables thrown in.
Thai food rocks! Right? I mean, I didn’t even get my first taste of this cuisine until I was 25 and I am hooked. I remember mentioning this in my tom kha vegetarian soup recipe and in the more recent pad thai recipe I shared, I took a vegetarian Thai recipes cooking class during a weekend trip to Bangkok. It was at this quaint but fun cooking class called May Kaidee. I learnt a lot of recipes in a very short time and have been cooking them ever since since TH and I love both love Thai food and the restaurants here usually put fish sauce in all Thai dishes which becomes tricky for TH.
One of our favourite Thai restaurants in Singapore is Thanying in Amara Hotel and they make a mean tom yum soup. Once I asked the waitress why the tom yum soup is not clear as I am used to seeing in other restaurants but a bit cloudy. She mentioned that the chef adds 1-2 tbsp of coconut milk to the soup which is not the norm for tom yum soup. I loved the idea and decided to do the same in my vegetarian tom yum soup. However, if you really want a coconut milk based Thai soup, then tom kha soup is the way to go.
Love soup and Thai recipes? Check out the following bottle gourd soup recipe, vegetarian Thai green curry!
- 5 dry red chillies
- 2 tbsp chopped carrots
- 2 tbsp chopped onions or shallots
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- 2 tbsp soya sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp lime juice
- 4 tbsp oil
- 2 kaffir lime leaves, torn into two
- 2 one-inch pieces of galangal (no need to peel)
- 2 half-inch pieces of lemon grass
- 2 tbsp chopped carrot
- 2 tbsp chopped onion
- 2 tbsp chopped tomato
- 2 tbsp tofu (optional)
- 1 handful of mixed vegetables (cabbage, baby corn, broccoli, mushroom, etc)
- 1.5 tbsp soya sauce
- 1 tsp brown sugar (or regular sugar)
- 1 tbsp coriander leaves (cilantro)
- 1-2 tsp lime juice
- 1-2 tsp tom yum chilli paste
- 1-2 tbsp coconut milk
- Grind together all the ingredients into a smooth paste
- Set aside until needed
- Boil 500ml water in a wok or large pan
- Add 2 kaffir lime leaves (torn into two pieces), 2 one-inch slices of galangal, and 2 half-inch pieces of lemon grass
- Boil for 3-4 minutes
- Now add all vegetables and tofu you prefer to use - carrot, onion, tomato, tofu, mushrooms, broccoli, etc
- Boil for 5-6 minutes until tender yet firm
- Now add 1.5 tbsp soya sauce and 1 tsp brown sugar
- Boil for another minute and turn off the heat
- Add 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves, 2 tsp lime juice (adjust to taste), 1-2 tsp tom yum paste, and 1-2 tbsp coconut milk
- Mix well, adjust salt if needed, and serve hot
Vegetarian Tom Yum Soup Step by Step Recipe
Prepare all your ingredients. Clean, chop, and place the vegetables and herbs ready for cooking since once you start, it’s just about adding things to the pan
A note on the soya sauce used in Thai recipes. It may seem obvious, but try to get a Thai brand soya sauce. If you are vegetarian, make sure there are no additional fish products in the soya sauce. I usually get Healthy Boy brand soya sauce and it works like a charm. It’s also fairly easy to get outside of Thailand in most Asian stores.
To make the tom yum chilli paste, place 5 dry red chillies, 2 tbsp chopped carrots (optional – this is meant to give some texture and replace the dried shrimp typically used in tom yum paste), 3 tbsp chopped onions or shallots, 1 tbsp chopped garlic, 2 tbsp soya sauce, 2 tsp sugar, 2 tsp lime juice, 4 tbsp oil (peanut oil or rice bran oil works best) in a blender.
Grind or blend to a smooth paste without adding any water. Set aside.
Boil 500ml water in a wok or large pan. Add 2 kaffir lime leaves (torn into two pieces), 2 one-inch slices of galangal, and 2 half-inch pieces of lemon grass. Boil for 3-4 minutes.
Now add all vegetables (and tofu) you prefer to use – carrot, onion, tomato, tofu, mushrooms, broccoli, etc
Boil for 5-6 minutes until tender yet firm. Now add 1.5 tbsp soya sauce and 1 tsp brown sugar.
Boil for another minute and turn off the heat. Add – 2 tsp lime juice (adjust to taste), 1-2 tsp tom yum paste, 1-2 tbsp coconut milk, and 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves.
Mix well, adjust salt if needed, and serve hot
For tom yum soup recipe in Thai, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Urdu, etc please use the Google translate button in the sidebar.
Perfect recipe I was looking for!
thank you
soup is really healthy and yummy to have before food.thanks for the post.
Good one!! Do visit my blog when you have time.
True. Utter deceit in that fish sauce I tell you. By the way this Tom yum is super yum
thank you anusha!
Yum! This soup sounds so flavorful.
Mouthwatering! Thanks for the vegetarian version
great