Tom yum soup is regarded as the icon of Thai cuisine, similar to how sushi is to Japanese cuisine, curry to Indian cuisine, pizza or pasta to Italian cuisine. It is Thailand’s national and most famous dish, and as such when people think about Thai food, chances are they think about tom yum as well.
The freshly hot, savory and sour taste, with high quality vegetables, meat or seafood inside the soup makes people fall in love easily with this soup, or Thai cuisine in general. Some in fact have loved it to the point of wanting more! Anyway, these are all about and the benefits of tom yum Thai soup.
An Introduction to Tom Yum Soup
Etiologically, “tom yum” consists of two words from the Thai language. “Tom” means “the boiling process” whereas “yam” is “a spicy and sour Thai salad.” Therefore, one could argue that “tom yum” is literally “a boiling Thai spicy and sour salad.”
Hot and sour are the main flavours of Thai tom yum, with additional broth fragrances contributed by herbs and spices such as lime juice, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, lemongrass, chili, fish sauce, and red chilli peppers.
There are also various variants of tom yum soup, which among them are;
- Tom yum kung – tom yum that uses prawns.
- Tom yum pla – tom yum that uses fish meat.
- Tom yum gai – tom yum that uses chicken meat.
- Tom yum kha moo – tom yum that uses pork leg.
- Tom yum pho taek – tom yum that uses various seafood items such as shrimp, squid, clams and fish meat.
- Tom yum nam sai – tom yum with clear broth.
- Tom yum kathi – tom yum with coconut milk-based broth.
Nutritional Facts of Tom Yum Soup
- Serving Size – 836 g
- Water – 180 g
- Calories – 253 kcal (1059 kJ)
- Total Fat – 12.6 g (19% of DV)
- Saturated Fat – 1.8 g (9% of DV)
- Polyunsaturated Fat – 8.8 g
- Monounsaturated Fat – 1.4 g
- Trans Fat – 0 g (0% of DV)
- Cholesterol – 0 g (0% of DV)
- Sodium – 2959 mg (123% of DV)
- Total Carbohydrates – 32.6 g (11% of DV)
- Sugars – 10 g
- Dietary Fibre – 4.6g (18% of DV)
- Protein – 5.1 g (10% of DV)
- Potassium – 322 mg (9% of DV)
- Vitamins and Minerals
- Vitamin A – 2267 IU (45% of DV)
- Vitamin B6 – 0.4 mg (19% of DV)
- Vitamin B12 – 0 mg (0% of DV)
- Vitamin C – 11.1 mg (18% of DV)
- Vitamin D – 0 mg (0% of DV)
- Vitamin E – 2.2 mg (11% of DV)
- Vitamin K – 8.1 mcg (10% of DV)
- Calcium – 67.5 mg (7% of DV)
- Copper – 1.7 mg (83% of DV)
- Iron – 1.9 mg (11% of DV)
- Magnesium – 39.3 mg (10% of DV)
- Manganese – 0.8 g (40% of DV)
- Phosphorus – 85.5 mg (9% of DV)
- Potassium – 399 mg (10% of DV)
- Selenium – 45.6 mcg (65% of DV)
- Zinc – 2.6 mg (17% of DV)
All the information above are in relation to a 2,000-calorie diet. The percentage of daily value (% of DV) may differ depending on personal calorie needs.
What are its Health Benefits?
- Thai Tom Yum is Filled with Healthy Herbs and Ingredients
A number of ingredients found inside tom yum soup also happens to be some of the healthiest and finest around, such as health benefits of bird’s eye chili, galangal, tomatoes, lemongrass, garlic, onions and lime juice.
- Thai Tom Yum’s Benefits of Galangal
Galangal’s core health benefits are to being anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-cancer ingredients that are essential for the entirety of the human organ system!
- Thai Tom Yum’s Chili
Chillies have an exceptionally high value of vitamin C benefits, and of course capsaicin too! Capsaicin offers painkiller anti-cancer benefits, weight management and also diabetes management.
- Thai Tom Yum’s Tomatoes
Tomato health benefits have lycopene, which are antioxidants responsible for protecting against several life-threatening diseases such as cancer and heart diseases.
- Thai Tom Yum’s Lemongrass
Finally, health benefits of lemongrass could help prevent the growth of bacteria and yeast, halt the developments of pain, swelling, fever, plus improve blood cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
How to Make Thai Prawn Tom Yum Soup (Tom Yum Goong)
Ingredients
- 2 litres of water
- 4 stalks of lemongrass
- 1 inch chunk of galangal
- 10 kaffir lime leaves
- 10 Thai chillies
- 5 cloves or garlic
- 500g of prawn
- 300g of oyster mushrooms
- 2 medium sized onions
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons of sugar
- Some cilantro
- 8-12 teaspoons of lime juice
- 8-12 teaspoons of fish sauce
Steps
- First, boil the water in a pot. And then, pour some lime juice into it.
- Tear the outer layers of lemongrasses and throw it away. Tear also the kaffir lime leaves.
- Chop the galangal into thin slices, and also peel the garlic. Don’t forget to chop the Thai chillies as well!
- Pour the ingredients mentioned in steps 2 and 3 into the boiling pot of water, and let it infuse with lid closed to release the fragrance inside. Boil for 10 minutes.
- Peel the prawns, and clean it before it is inserted into the pot. Afterwards, set the fire into low.
- Prepare the mushrooms, which should be washed properly first.
- And then, slice the tomatoes and onion into wedges.
- Add the mushrooms, tomatoes and onions into the pot. Boil it for 2-3 minutes.
- Add fish sauce and also some sugar. Boil the soup into another minute and then turn off the heat.
- Make sure that one tastes the soup so that it has the perfect balance of sour and salty taste. If the flavour is still not suitable, then add some more lime juice, fish sauce and sugar until it tastes right.
- Chop the cilantros, and place it inside the soup as a final touch.
- Transfer the soup into a large bowl, and finally prawn tom yum (tom yum goong) soup is now ready to be served!