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Active Time
45 min
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Total Time
1 1/2 hr (not including making stock)
This Thai-inspired soup has many layers in its complexity, but the overall effect is of cleanness and freshness. An optional addition of jasmine rice makes a heartier meal. The soup, without chicken, diced tomatoes, snow peas, and basil, can be made 3 days ahead and chilled (covered once cool).
Ingredients
Makes 4 to 6 (main course) servings
Step 1
Cut off and discard top of lemongrass, leaving 6-inch stalks, then finely chop. Cook lemongrass, shallots, and garlic in oil in a large heavy pot over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until well browned, 12 to 15 minutes.
Step 2
Add stock, reserved tomato juice, tamarind, fish sauce, chiles, lime leaves, and ginger and simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes.
Step 3
While soup simmers, freeze chicken breast just until slightly firm, 20 to 30 minutes, then thinly slice crosswise.
Step 4
Strain stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a large saucepan, pressing hard on and then discarding solids. Return to a simmer and stir in chicken, diced tomatoes, snow peas, and basil. Gently simmer just until chicken is cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with additional fish sauce and salt.
Editor’s note: As part of ourarchive repair project, this recipe headnote and ingredients have been updated to remove an offensive word for makrut lime.
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Reviews (25)
Back to TopCouldn't find the lime leaves or tamarind but used the other ingredients and it still turned our great! When the fall rolls back around and it starts getting chilly I would make this again.
bedstuydadandhubby
Brooklyn, NY
5/16/2017
This would be my last meal if I had hours to live. I have had it in Thai restaurants as "Tom Yum" . Don't skimp on anything and you will be rewarded!
Anonymous
JMWW from PA
2/4/2013
Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow. I made the chicken stock because, well, once you start making your own stock you never go back. Another reviewer states that doing so means you are making stock not once but twice. True. However, I wanted extra stock for other uses, so I went ahead and wasted the time. The only changes I made to the recipe were substituting tamarind paste for fresh tamarind and using lime peel instead of the kaffir lime leaves. Ah, but I also left the broth plain, and added in julienned carrot and snow peas, fried tofu, chiffonade basil, and cubed (cooked) chicken right before serving. The barely-cooked crispness of the vegetables, combined with the silky broth and meaty tofu and chicken...perfect. Rice would only bog this down.
saramarishah
Milwaukee
3/9/2011
Excellent. A few tweaks here and there like using lime zest and juice instead of the kafir leaves, and lemon juice and brown sugar instead of tamarind. Also used fresh tomatoes instead of canned and added mushrooms, cilantro and tofu. Used homemade stock from a roasted chicken so all in all, it took three days to make this soup. Glad to have some leftovers. I do think using the brown sugar/lemon mixture helped correct the acidic balance. Got rave reviews from my husband.
Anonymous
Tacoma, WA
3/5/2011
Wow - so flavourful and tasty! It was a bit overwhelming at first but I quickly grew to love it. I might add a tiny bit of sugar as one reviewer suggested - my hubby definitely found this a bit tart. A lovely, lovely base.
barbmia
Toronto, ON
1/7/2011
This is a yummy soup. As you enjoy the soup your taste buds pick up a delightful multi-level depth of flavors. I followed the recipe with the exception of adding mushrooms along with the chicken and simmering the chicken & mushrooms for another 20 minutes. I did not have lime leaves, so I substituted lime zest and lime juice.
davidbcannon
Pleasanton, CA
5/11/2010
I LOVE this soup! I added a can of light coconut milk and served it with some thin noodles. A big "Thank you" to katendesign for the info on buying my own kaffir tree! I just ordered one: ediblelandscaping.com for $20.
jeelana
Cary, NC
4/3/2010
This soup was quite good but there are a few things that I would change when I make it again. First, I did make my own chicken stock that was very close to the "rich and flavorful" stock listed here. What I don't really understand is why the second step of the recipe couldn't be combined w/the stock prep. Basically, you have to make stock twice w/this soup. I do suggest making the stock the night before so you can skim the fat off. I cut all the ingredients for the first and second step and feel like I wasted a lot of time since they are just strained out in the end. I recommend leaving the garlic, lemongrass, and shallots in more of a rough chop when you brown them and doing the same for the ginger in the stock cooking. Secondly, this soup is VERY tart when prepared like this. My wife (who is from Vietnam) recommended adding a little sugar to the soup as it was cooking since we tasted it often and found it to be over the top on the sour scale. The only thing that I changed from the original recipe was to use fresh tomatoes in place of the canned ones so that could make a small difference but I highly recommend adding a little (1 tablespoon or so) sugar to the stock as you cook it. Of course, that is an individual taste thing... Over all, this is a very good, fairly unusual dish and I will make it again. I didn't feel like adding rice at the end to my bowl really helped the flavors much but otherwise, I enjoyed it very much!
cattrelc
Minneapolis, MN
3/13/2010
This recipe is a definite keeper. I browned the shallots and garlic, but then just put everything else in the pot at once. I used lemongrass paste, halved the peppers and then sliced very thinly and minced up ginger so I could follow other reviewer's advice not to strain the broth. Definitely don't strain the broth. The only thing I would do differently next time is to use bonelss chicken thighs rather than breasts. The breast meat was flavorless and dry and did not fit with the rest of the soup. Otherwise, it was fabulous!
mamadogg
Las Vegas, NV
2/28/2010
I started the day before and made my own chicken stock with all of a chicken except the breast (saved for another dish - this soup was delicious with mostly dark meat). Cooled it to skim off the fat and picked the chicken off the bones. The next day I made the broth with a jalapeno and lemon zest substitutions, though I do grow lime leaves in the kitchen. (didn't sieve but spooned out nost of the solids) and in last 20 min put in 1/2 cup of Jasmine rice and the tomatoes (not very Thai?). Last 10 min, left-over chicken, peas and basil. We loved this soup.
jbrich
cape cod
11/23/2009
The first time we made this we followed the recipe exactly. It was superb. Solely to add variety, we use this base and add all kings of things; oyster mushrooms, wild rice, juice from fresh lemon and limes, baby bok choy, garlesto (garlic and basil) frozen from the season's end- whateva! It is that good. Sometimes we strain, sometimes not. I grow lots of lemon grass, so I cut several stalks, keep them long and smash them instead of chopping and I just take them out before we add the chicken and etc. This has already become our winter staple, and it isn't even winter yet.
suzmo2
Columbia, MO
11/20/2009
this was awesome! i was hoping for leftovers but it all got eaten up!
brookie_m
yukon
10/2/2009
If you can't get tamarind, a good substitute is one fourth cup dark brown sugar, 3 T fresh lemon juice, one half tsp. molasses combined and heated to dissolve sugar. This is from Sheila Lukins All Around the World Cookbook.
bavaria
9/26/2009
Excellent! Especially to knock out a cold. I also left all the good bits in, and only strained out the lemongrass. I love to eat the slices of garlic and ginger.
smfino
8/27/2009
The tamarind overwhelmed the soup and made it too salty, so i would recommend using less in order to taste the basil. It was ok but just way too salty.
Anonymous
sf bay area,ca
4/5/2009
