Tom Yum Gai (Thai Hot and Sour Chicken Soup)
Tom Yum Gai (Thai Hot and Sour Chicken Soup) is a sour, spicy, savory soup made with chicken, chili paste, mushrooms, and aromatic ingredients.
I vividly remember the first time I had Thai food. I was in my late teens, and my Dad had recently returned from a work trip to Asia. He had tried Thai food during his time on that trip, and he must have liked it, because he immediately planned to take us all out to a fancy Thai restaurant (or at least it seemed fancy to me at the time) in downtown Calgary.
My Dad ordered the dishes, and though I don’t remember what we ate that night, I know we all liked it. Going out for Thai food became a regular occurrence for my family even years later. It wasn’t too long after that dinner that my Dad also planned a trip for my family to go to Thailand.
While I don’t go out for Thai food as often with my family now, Mr. Dreamboat and I do go every once in a while when it’s just the two of us. One of my favorite things to order is (and always has been) Tom Yum Gai (Thai Hot and Sour Chicken Soup).
While I have been eating this soup for many years in restaurants, I’ve only recently tried making it for myself. While I expected it to be difficult, I gathered the courage to try it when I found that I could buy all of the ingredients I needed at the Asian market that’s closest to where I live.
It turns out that finding the ingredients was the most difficult part of making the soup. Once I had them, the soup was very easy to make with minimal prep and a relatively short cooking time.
How to Make Tom Yum Gai
Once you’ve secured all of the ingredients you need to make this soup, the rest will be smooth sailing. Start by prepping your ingredients. You’ll need to thinly slice your chicken, slice or cut your mushrooms into bite-sized pieces, remove the tough outer layers from the lemongrass and cut the tender bottom parts into about 1-inch pieces, slice the galangal, and chop the cilantro. Start cooking the rice or rice noodles, if you plan to use them.
Add the chicken stock and fish sauce to a large saucepan and bring it to a boil over high heat. Stir in the sliced chicken and simmer for about 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
Stir in the mushrooms, lemongrass, lime leaves, sliced galangal, and chili paste, and continue to simmer for 5 more minutes.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the lime juice, sugar, and cilantro.
Serve the soup with cooked rice or rice noodles if you wish, and make sure to serve the soup with saucers under the bowl, or a small bowl on the table where everyone can discard the lemongrass, lime leaves, and galangal from their soup. These are added for flavor only – they’re too tough to eat.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days and reheat in the microwave.
Tom Yum Gai Ingredients
- Reduced-sodium chicken stock or no-salt-added chicken broth
- Fish sauce – Fish sauce is a salty and savory sauce typically made from fermented anchovies. Find it in well-stocked grocery stores or Asian markets.
- Boneless, skinless chicken breast – or you could also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- White button mushrooms or oyster mushrooms – I’ve tried making this soup with both options, and both are good. White button mushrooms are easier to find.
- Lemongrass – Lemongrass is pretty easy to find where I live, and I can even get it at my local Walmart. If you buy more than you need, simply put the leftovers in the freezer. I always keep some on hand in a freezer bag.
- Lime leaves – Lime leaves are available in Asian markets. I found mine in Lucky Supermarket, which also had convenient Tom Yum kits that also contained lemongrass, galangal, and bird’s eye chilis.
- Galangal is an aromatic root that is similar in appearance to ginger. You can find it in Asian markets. Store leftovers in a zipper bag in the freezer.
- Thai chili paste (nam prik pao) – This is a thick, spicy, and savory seasoning paste made with roasted chilis and other ingredients (shallots, garlic, fermented shrimp, etc.) and oil. It is not the same as chili garlic sauce, chili crisp, or red curry paste. Some brands might be spicier than others depending on the quantity and type of chilis they use in the paste (mine was very spicy). Because of this, I recommend adding less chili paste to start, then tasting your soup and adding more if needed. You might be able to find it in well-stocked grocery stores, or try an Asian market.
- Lime juice – Fresh-squeezed is best, but bottled will work here too.
- Granulated sugar
- Chopped cilantro
- Cooked rice noodles or white rice – This is optional and to be used for serving with or in the soup
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Tom Yum Gai Nutrition Notes
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one bowl of soup if you divide your recipe into four bowls. If your bowls are larger (or smaller) than this, the nutrition information will vary accordingly.
The nutrition information calculations include only 1 Tablespoon of Thai chili paste, not 2. Using two Tablespoons will slightly increase the calories, carbohydrates, fat, and sodium in your soup. The nutrition information does not include any optional rice or rice noodles that you might add.
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Add 4 cups (946 ml) reduced-sodium chicken stock and 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) fish sauce to a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Bring the mixture to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, and stir in the thinly sliced chicken breast. Simmer for 10 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked and tender.
- Stir in the mushrooms, lemongrass, lime leaves, galangal slices and 1-2 Tablespoons Thai chili paste. Continue to simmer for 5 more minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in ½ cup (118 ml) lime juice, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) granulated sugar, and 2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro. Note that the lemongrass, lime leaves, and galangal are added for flavor only and not actually meant to be eaten. This soup is normally served with these ingredients left in the soup, but with a saucer under the bowl so that there is somewhere to place these items after they're removed. If desired, serve the soup with cooked rice noodles or white rice.
Nutrition
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