Tom yum goong (Thai hot and sour shrimp soup)

A Thai seafood dish built on whole ingredients.

Servings: 4
Active time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min

Organic sourcing

Tomatoes and mushrooms are best sourced organic due to their higher pesticide residue. Lemongrass and galangal are typically low in residues, making organic less critical.

Ingredients

• 1 liter water
• 500 g large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 stalks lemongrass, cut into 3-inch pieces and bruised
• 3 kaffir lime leaves, torn
• 3 slices galangal
• 3 bird's eye chilies, smashed
• 2 medium tomatoes, quartered
• 200 g mushrooms, halved
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp palm sugar
• 4 coriander sprigs, roughly chopped
• to taste sea salt

Method

1. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot.
2. Add the lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and galangal to the pot and simmer for 5 minutes to release the flavors.
3. Add the shrimp to the pot, cooking until they turn pink, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomatoes and mushrooms, continuing to simmer until the mushrooms are tender.
5. Add the fish sauce, lime juice, and palm sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
6. Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and more lime juice if needed.
7. Remove from heat and serve hot, garnished with coriander leaves.

Notes

• For extra heat, add more bird's eye chilies.
• Palm sugar can be substituted with coconut sugar.
• For a vegetarian version, use vegetable stock and tofu instead of shrimp.

Source

Paraphrased from the culinary canon by Organic.is editors, 2026. Classic Thai recipe. If you'd like a specific source for further reading, ask Tinni (bottom-right) for a book recommendation.