Thai soup
Tom yum
or
tom yam
(
,
;
[3]
Thai
:
?????
,
RTGS
:
tom yam
[tom
j?m]
ⓘ
) is a family of hot and sour Thai soups. It is a soup that normally includes shrimp. The strong, hot, and sour flavors make it very popular in Thai cuisine.
[4]
The name "tom yam" is composed of two
Thai
words.
Tom
refers to the boiling process, while
yam
means 'mixed'.
Historian Giles Milton contends that the origins of Tom Yum can be traced back to
India
, where there is a variation of hot and sour shrimp soup known as "sour prawn soup."
[5]
Preparation
[
edit
]
The soup base depends on the exact sub-type but is generally water, coconut milk, or chicken or other broth.
[6]
Various aromatic ingredients are sliced, roughly pounded, and simmered to extract their flavor. These include fresh ingredients such as
lemongrass
,
kaffir lime
leaves,
galangal
, chilis, shallots, and garlic. For shrimp-based soups, shrimp shells and heads may also be simmered, to extract their flavor. These ingredients are often then removed as their flavor is now extracted and many aren't edible. However they may be left in, as an aid to presentation.
[6]
Alternatively, commercial tom yum paste may be used. This is made by crushing all the herb ingredients and
stir-frying
them in oil, then adding seasoning and other preservative ingredients. The paste is bottled or packaged and sold around the world.
Vegetables, such as onion and tomato, are then added. In modern popular versions the soup may also contain mushrooms?usually
straw mushrooms
or
oyster mushrooms
.
[6]
Various meats are added next, commonly fish, shrimp, mixed seafood, pork, or chicken.
[6]
When the meat is cooked, final flavorings whose taste is destroyed by heat, such as fish sauce and lime juice, are added. For most varieties a paste called
nam phrik phao
(
Thai
:
??????????
) is also added, made from shrimp, chilis, shallots, and garlic.
[7]
This imparts sweet, salty, and spicy tastes.
[6]
Yet other ingredients may also be used, depending on the exact variety of tom yam, such as evaporated milk.
[6]
The soup is often topped with a generous sprinkling of fresh chopped
coriander
leaves, and may be served over a serving of rice.
[6]
Selected types
[
edit
]
- Tom yam nam sai
(
Thai
:
??????????
), clear broth tom yam soup
[8]
- Tom yam nam khon
(
Thai
:
???????????
) is a more recent variation from the 1980s.
[9]
common with
prawns
as a main ingredient, evaporated milk or non-dairy creamer powder
[9]
is added to the broth as a finishing touch.
- Tom yam kathi
(
Thai
:
?????????
) ? coconut milk-based tom yum?this is often confused with
tom kha kai
("chicken galanga soup"), where galangal is the dominant flavour of the coconut milk-based soup.
- Tom yam kung
(
Thai
:
?????????
) ? the version of the dish most popular among tourists, is made with
prawns
as the main ingredient.
[10]
The dish originated during the
Rattanakosin Kingdom
.
[11]
- Tom yam pla
(
Thai
:
????????
) is a clear fish soup that was traditionally eaten with rice. It used to be the most widespread form of
tom yam
before
mass-tourism
came to Thailand, for fresh fish is readily available almost everywhere in the region's rivers, canals and lakes as well as in the sea. Usually fish with firm flesh that doesn't crumble after boiling is preferred for this type of soup.
[12]
- Tom yam gai
(
Thai
:
????????
) is the
chicken
version of the soup.
[13]
- Tom yam po taek
(
Thai
:
????????????
) or
tom yam thale
(
Thai
:
?????????
) is a variant of the soup with mixed seafood, like prawns, squid, clams and pieces of fish.
[14]
- Tom yam kung maphrao on nam khon
(
Thai
:
??????????????????????
), a version of prawn tom yum with the meat of a young coconut and a dash of (coconut) milk.
- Tom yam kha mu
(
Thai
:
??????????
), made with pork leg. These require a long cooking time under low fire.
[15]
- Tom yam sikhrong kraduk on
(
Thai
:
??????????????????????
), made with pork ribs. The hot and spicy broth compliments other Thai dishes well. In restaurants in Thailand, Tom Yum comes in a fire pot with hot flame flaring from the chimney in the middle.
Other spicy and sour soups
[
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]
Less well known outside Thailand is
tom khlong
(????????), a spicy sour soup where the sourness does not derive from lime juice but through the use of
tamarind
.
[16]
Tom som
(
Thai
:
??????
) are soups that are also very similar to
tom yum
but most often do not contain lemongrass or kaffir lime leaves. Depending on the type of
tom som
, the acidity can be derived from lime juice or from the use of tamarind.
[17]
[18]
Outside Thailand
[
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]
Malaysia
[
edit
]
Tom yum, locally spelled as
tomyam
, is very well-received among Malaysians since its introduction around the 1980s.
[19]
[20]
The cuisine is now considered a must-have on most restaurant menus in
Malaysia
, especially the peninsular states.
[20]
As of 2018, the popularity of tom yum and other Thai dishes had brought employment to at least 120,000 south Thai cooks, working restaurants mainly in
Selangor
state and the capital city of
Kuala Lumpur
, and owning 5000 to 6000 Thai restaurants throughout the country.
[20]
[19]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Tom yam
.
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