Tom yum
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Tom yum (Thai: ต้มยำ, also sometimes romanized as tom yam) is a clear soup originating from Thailand and is perhaps one of the most famous dishes in Thai cuisine.
Tom yum is characterized by its distinct hot and sour flavours with fragrant herbs generously used. The basic broth is made up of stock and fresh herbs such as lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, and shallots. The intense flavours come from the addition of fresh lime juice, fish sauce and crushed chillis before serving.
In Thailand, tom yum is usually made with chicken (tom yum gai), prawns (tom yum goong), fish (tom yum pla) or mixed seafood (tom yum talay or tom yum po tak) and mushrooms - usually straw or oyster mushrooms. The soup is often topped with generous sprinkling of chopped coriander leaves.
The less popular variety of tom yum is tom yum nam khon (Thai: ต้มยำน้ำข้น) where coconut milk is added to the broth. This is not to be confused with tom kha - where the galangal flavour dominates the soup. Tom yum nam khon is almost always made with prawns whereas chicken is often used in tom kha. Its other cousin is the less well known outside Thailand tom klong. Sometimes Thai chilli jam (nam prik pao, Thai: น้ำพริกเผา) is added to give the soup a bright orange colour, also making the chilli flavor more pronounced. However the bright orange colour might be made from curry paste such geang som (Thai: แกงส้ม).
Commercial tom yum paste is made by crushing all the herb ingredients and stir-fried in oil. Seasoning and other preservative ingredients are then added. The paste is then bottled or packaged and sold around the world. Tom yum flavoured with the paste may have different characteristics to those made with fresh herb ingredients.
Tom-Yum-Goong is also the title of a feature film released in Thailand starring native martial arts sensation Tony Jaa of Ong-Bak fame. It was later released in the United States under the title The Protector
