Imported from YouTube
Authentic Spicy Thai Tom Yum with Homemade Nam Prik Pao
A hot, sour, salty, and lightly sweet Thai shrimp soup built from homemade nam prik pao, shrimp-head stock, lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime leaves, mushrooms, and shrimp. The homemade chili jam provides a deep roasted flavor and leaves extra sauce for rice or other dishes.
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Ingredients
- 90 g Tamarind paste
- 120 ml Boiling water (For loosening the tamarind paste)
- 295 ml Vegetable oil (Used for frying and cooking the nam prik pao; some remains as chili oil)
- 50 g Garlic (Peeled and thinly sliced)
- 100 g Shallots (Peeled and thinly sliced)
- 50 g Dried puya or árbol chilies (Deseeded)
- 25 g Dried shrimp (Processed into a fine powder)
- 150 g Palm sugar (Crushed)
- 90 g Fish sauce (For the nam prik pao)
- 1.5 lb Head-on shrimp or tiger prawns (Remove heads and shells, reserving all heads and shells for stock; peel and devein the shrimp)
- 830 ml Water (For the shrimp stock)
- Vegetable oil (Just enough to coat the bottom of the stock pot for searing the mushrooms)
- 2 heads Mini beech mushrooms (Bases cut off)
- 2 King oyster mushrooms (Sliced)
- 80 g Nam prik pao (From the prepared batch)
- 5 cloves Garlic (Thinly sliced)
- 5 Thai chilies (Thinly sliced)
- 2 stalks Lemongrass (Sliced and enclosed in a cheesecloth sachet)
- 1 knob Galangal (A 2-inch knob, peeled and sliced; enclosed in the sachet)
- 7 Makrut lime leaves (The transcript says “kefir lime leaves”)
- 55 g Fish sauce (For final seasoning)
- 38 g Lime juice (For final seasoning)
- 42 g Palm sugar (For final seasoning)
- Cilantro (Optional: half a bunch to steep in the broth, plus fresh leaves for garnish)
- Thai basil (Optional: half a bunch to steep in the hot broth, plus leaves for garnish)
- Kitchen twine (For tying the sachet)
Steps
- 1
Prepare the tamarind paste. Stir 90 g (⅓ cup) tamarind paste with 120 ml (½ cup) boiling water in a bowl, then let it sit for a few minutes.
- 2
Stir the softened tamarind again until smooth. Pass it through a mesh strainer, pressing or stirring so that most of the paste passes through while seed fragments remain behind. Set the strained paste aside.
- 3
Before heating the oil, place 295 ml (1¼ cups) vegetable oil and the 50 g thinly sliced garlic in a wok. Turn the heat to medium and allow the oil to heat gradually.
- 4
Cook the garlic, stirring occasionally, as it bubbles and then fries, until toasted and golden brown. Remove it with a skimmer and drain on paper towels.
- 5
Keep the oil over medium heat. Add the 100 g thinly sliced shallots and fry, stirring constantly, until most of the bubbling subsides and the shallots are golden brown. Remove them slightly before they reach the desired color because they continue browning after removal, then drain on paper towels.
- 6
Add the 50 g deseeded dried puya or árbol chilies to the oil. Stir gently and fry for about 20–30 seconds, until fragrant and beginning to darken. Remove and drain on paper towels.
- 7
While the fried garlic, shallots, and chilies cool, place the 25 g dried shrimp in a food processor and process on high until as fine a powder as possible. Remove the shrimp powder from the processor.
- 8
Place the fried chilies, fried garlic, and fried shallots in the same food processor. Blend on high until they form a fine but slightly crumbly mixture.
- 9
Return the wok and its frying oil to medium heat and heat the oil until hot. Add the dried-shrimp powder and lightly stir-fry it until fragrant.
- 10
Add the 150 g crushed palm sugar. Cook with the shrimp powder, stirring constantly, until the palm sugar has completely dissolved.
- 11
Stir in the fried chili-garlic-shallot mixture, the strained tamarind paste, and 90 g fish sauce. Simmer, stirring often, until the mixture is slightly thickened.
- 12
Transfer the nam prik pao to a bowl and let it cool completely. It will thicken significantly as it cools and become jam-like.
- 13
Prepare the shrimp. Remove the heads and shells from the shrimp, reserving all heads and shells in a separate bowl. Peel and devein the shrimp, keeping the cleaned shrimp separate.
- 14
Make the shrimp stock. Place all the reserved shrimp heads and shells in a medium stock pot and cover with 830 ml (3½ cups) water.
- 15
Heat the shrimp heads and shells over medium-high heat. As soon as the liquid begins to boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10 minutes, skimming away any foam that rises, until the stock has reduced to about 3 cups.
- 16
Strain out and discard the shrimp heads and shells. Reserve the strained shrimp stock.
- 17
Make a sachet by placing the sliced lemongrass and peeled, sliced galangal on a large piece of cheesecloth. Wrap it tightly and tie it closed with kitchen twine so the aromatics remain enclosed.
- 18
Heat a small stock pot over medium-high heat and add just enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom. Once hot, add the two heads of mini beech mushrooms and the two sliced king oyster mushrooms.
- 19
Sear the mushrooms for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned and softened. Remove them from the pot and set them aside.
- 20
Add 80 g (¼ cup) of the cooled nam prik pao, the five thinly sliced garlic cloves, and the five thinly sliced Thai chilies to the pot. Sauté for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- 21
Add the lemongrass-galangal sachet, followed by all of the reserved shrimp stock and the seven makrut lime leaves.
- 22
Bring the soup to a light simmer over medium heat and cook for 15 minutes so the aromatics and nam prik pao flavor the broth.
- 23
Return the seared mushrooms to the pot. Add the peeled and deveined shrimp, reduce the heat to low, and gently cook for 2–3 minutes, just until the shrimp are cooked through.
- 24
Remove the sachet. Squeeze in the lime juice, then add 55 g (¼ cup) fish sauce and 42 g (3 tablespoons) palm sugar.
- 25
Taste the soup and adjust the fish sauce, lime juice, and palm sugar as needed until the broth has a balanced combination of rich umami saltiness, sweetness, and bright acidity.
- 26
Optionally add half a bunch of cilantro and half a bunch of Thai basil to the hot broth and let them steep briefly before serving.
- 27
Ladle the tom yum into bowls. Spoon a little of the oil from the nam prik pao over each bowl, or use regular chili oil, and garnish with fresh cilantro leaves.
Notes
The transcript also describes an optional fine-dining variation using seared king oyster mushrooms, lobster, scallion emulsion, brown butter, coconut cream, furikake, chili oil, and herbs; those ingredients and techniques are not included in this primary traditional recipe. The author emphasizes that the nam prik pao is essential and can be made ahead; extra nam prik pao may be served with rice or used in other dishes. The source does not specify a precise final soup yield or storage instructions.
Nutrition per serving
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