Tom Yum Gai

This authentic Chicken Tom Yum Soup captures the quintessential flavors of Thai cuisine, with its bold and refreshing combination of lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, and spicy Thai bird's eye chilies. It's the perfect dish to warm you up and tantalize your taste buds!

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 35 mins

Cuisine: Asian, Thai

Courses: Dinner, Lunch, Soup

Difficulty: Beginner

Servings: 4

Best Season: Suitable throughout the year

Description

Tom Yum is, by far, one of my favorite soups. It's a Thai dish packed with bold flavors like lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and galangal, giving it a unique aroma and uniquely distinct flavor. With tender chicken, mushrooms, and tomatoes, it strikes a perfect balance between savory, sour, and spicy. Whether you're a fan of Thai cuisine or trying it for the first time, I think you'll find my Tom Yum recipe will become one of your favorites, too!

Ingredients

4 cup Chicken Broth
2 cup Water
2 stalk Lemongrass (bruised and cut into 2-inch pieces)
4 Kaffir Lime Leaves (torn)
4 Galangal Slices (Thai ginger)
3 Thai Bird's Eye Chilies (bruised)
2 clove Garlic (minced)
1 White Onion (small) (quartered)
8 oz Chicken Breast (boneless, skinless, thinly sliced)
1 cup Mushrooms (sliced)
2 Tomatoes (cut into wedges)
2 tbsp Fish Sauce
1 tbsp Lime Juice
1 tsp Sugar
Cilantro (for garnish)
Thinly Sliced Thai Chilies (for garnish)

Instructions

1
Prep Ingredients
1. In a large pot, combine the chicken broth and water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Prep and cut ingredients
2
Build Your Broth
1. Add the lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, Thai bird's eye chilies, garlic, and onion to the pot. Let it simmer for 5-10 minutes to infuse the broth with flavors.
2. Add the sliced chicken breast to the pot and cook until the chicken is no longer pink, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Once the chicken is cooked, add the sliced mushrooms and tomato wedges to the pot. Let it simmer for another 2-3 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender.
4. Stir in the fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning according to your preference, adding more fish sauce for saltiness, lime juice for acidity, or sugar to balance the flavors.
It's perfectly fine to use pre-cooked chicken. I will typically buy a roasting chicken from my local market and tear it down for the soup. Galangal may be hard to find. You can *technically* substitute regular ginger, but know it is a different flavor than the earthier, more distinct galangal. If you have an Asian market, you may be in luck. Mine will sometimes have it fresh, but the almost always have it in the frozen section. You can balance this soup to your preference by adjusting the fish sauce (salty), lime juice (acid), and sugar (sweet). When I make it, I usually add more lime and sugar to really bump-up the tart sweetness against the heat of the chilies.
3
Finish
1. Ladle the hot soup into serving bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and thinly sliced Thai bird's eye chilies, if desired.
2. Serve the authentic chicken Tom Yum soup hot and enjoy the bold and refreshing flavors!
This soup cooks really fast and can be stored for several days in the refrigerator. It also freezes well, so don't be afraid to double or triple the recipe!

Keywords: Authentic Tom Yum soup recipe, Thai chicken soup, Hot and sour soup, Spicy Thai soup, Traditional Thai recipe, Lemongrass soup