Tom Yam is a type of soup with distinct sharp hot and sour flavors, scented with a pleasant citrusy aroma.
Tom Yam is known to seduce many westerners to fall in love with Thailand, its people, and food. Many trips’ memories to Thailand were written in diaries, others are etched on film but all are stained by the Tom Yam charm.
I still remember with vivid colors my first bowl of Tom Yam, in the night market of the old neighborhood on a hot night in a ragged, unfashionable part of Bangkok. Where the smell of cooking and the glare of fluorescent lights decorated the alley where JeMoi used to own a restaurant, a very simple and very good one, decorated with cheap bamboo chairs and peeling orange walls. I would enjoy watching the streets of the early night turning into mornings, eating, drinking, and sweating. It was hard to say if I was sweating from the hot and humid weather, the cheap whiskey, or JeMoi’s spicy food. I still smile when I think of her, standing by my table with a winning smile as if she knew how much I enjoy the food.
Tom Yam is considered the best-liked Thai dish by westerners, is more than just a dish really; It is a full chapter of Thai cuisine with many recipes and a spectrum of variations.
Over time, I will list here different versions of Tom Yam.
The Scholar and Astrologer Prayoon Uroochata (Born 1921) said that Tom Yum has originated during the Ratanakosin period, which began with the founding of Bangkok as the capital in 1782.
It is not certain though if at times Tom Yam was part of the Royal Thai cuisine. King Rama II, in his “Boat epic poems” described incomparable dishes and arrangements at the hands of his queen. The poems are in praise of dishes, fruit arrangements, desserts, and significant occasions marked by the royal barge processions – neglected to mention Tom Yam.
It is only in “Suphasit Son Ying” were the poet Sunthorn Phu (1786-1855), the Shakespeare of Thailand, describing the ability to prepare Tom Yam as part of the desirable qualities that adds charm to a woman.
We can find written evidence that during the reign of HRH King Chulalongkorn the Great (Rama V, 1853 – 1910), Tom Yam has became part of the Royal Thai cuisine. It is described how a governor of a remote province welcomed the King with a meal that included Tom Yam.
Thai used mostly with Fish, Dried fish or fish heads in the preparation of Tom Yam. In the early days, the markets did not offer shrimp at wide variety and affordability of today.
Tom Yam Kung Recipe, Hot and Sour Soup with Shrimp (tom yum goong ; ต้มยำกุ้ง)
Hanuman from Thaifoodmaster
Tom Yam is a type of soup with distinct sharp hot and sour flavors, scented with pleasant citrusy aroma.
Today’s tom yum goong soup recipe is a refreshing addition to the tom yum soup repertoire. The fried SaNoh Flower Cakes sensationally enhance the shrimp’s natural sweetness, while the flower’s bittersweet aftertaste is a superb tropical match to the citrusy and aromatic hot and sour tom yum goong soup.
Tom yum soup from the late 19th-century Siam to present days. Including a step-by-step recreation of tom yum soup with snakehead fish (dtohm yam bplaa chaawn, ตัมยำปลาช่อน) as recorded by Maawm Sohm Jeen (Raa Chaa Noopraphan) (หม่อมซ่มจีน, ราชานุประพันธุ์) in her book “Tam Raa Gap Khao” (ตำรากับเข้า), published in 1890 (2433 BE, 109RE).
Tom kha is a well-known and much-loved Thai soup: a creamy, soothing coconut blend, a warm, silky broth in which chicken, mainly, is simmered with young galangal, mushrooms, and, at times, charred-grilled banana blossoms. In other versions, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves are added, blurring the boundaries between tom kha and the coconut-based tom yam soup (tom yum kati; ต้มยำกะทิ).
However, in the late 19th century, tom kha was not a soup at all: it was a dish of chicken or duck simmered in a light coconut broth with a generous amount of galangal. The coconut broth added sweetness to the meat, and the galangal helped to mellow the meat odor. It was then served with a basic roasted chili jam as a dipping relish seasoned along the salty-sour-sweet spectrum.
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Access to Thaifoodmaster’s constantly growing library of prime professional classes, articles, recipes and videos on Siamese culinary topics, available nowhere else in English.
Gain access to NEW MONTHLY masterclasses as they become available.
1-1 support from Hanuman to help you achieve your professional Thai culinary goals
The opportunity to join a monthly live two-hour videoconference where I can answer your questions.
one year access for the price of 3 days in-person training.
You will get everything you need to:
When you design or build a new menu for an event or restaurant or even prepare for dinner with friends.
Finally !
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