Tom yum explained

Tom yum
Alternate Name:Tom yam
Country:Central Thailand[1] [2]
Region:Southeast Asia
National Cuisine:Thailand
Course:Lunch
Type:Soup
Served:Hot
Main Ingredient:Broth, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, lime juice, fish sauce, chili peppers

Tom yum or tom yam (; Thai: ต้มยำ, in Thai pronounced as /tôm jām/) is a family of hot and sour Thai soups. The strong, hot, and sour flavors make it very popular in Thai cuisine.[3] 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". In Thailand, Tom Yam is available in various types, with the most popular being “Tom Yam Nam Khon,” or Creamy Tom Yam Soup, and “Tom Yam Nam Sai,” or Clear Tom Yam Soup. This soup features a variety of main ingredients, including shrimp, pork, chicken, and seafood. [4]

Preparation

The soup base depends on the exact sub-type but is generally water, coconut milk, or chicken or other broth.[5]

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. 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.[5]

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.

In modern popular versions the soup may also contain mushrooms—usually straw mushrooms or oyster mushrooms.[5]

Various meats are added next, commonly fish, shrimp, mixed seafood, pork, or chicken.[5]

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: น้ำพริกเผา) is also added, made from shrimp, chilis, shallots, and garlic.[6] This imparts sweet, salty, and spicy tastes.[5]

Yet other ingredients may also be used, depending on the exact variety of tom yam, such as evaporated milk.[5]

The soup is often topped with a generous sprinkling of fresh chopped coriander leaves, and may be served over a serving of rice.[5]

Selected types

Other spicy and sour soups

Less well known outside Thailand is tom khlong (ต้มโคล้ง), a spicy sour soup where the sourness does not derive from lime juice but through the use of tamarind.[15] Tom som (Thai: ต้มส้ม) 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.[16] [17]

Outside Thailand

Malaysia

Tom yum, locally spelled as tomyam, is very well-received among Malaysians since its introduction around the 1980s.[18] [19] The cuisine is now considered a must-have on most restaurant menus in Malaysia, especially the peninsular states.[19] 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.[19] [18]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Tom Yum Gai – Suwanee's Kitchen . Chiang Rai Times . 18 January 2016.
  2. News: The homemade hot sour soup that packs a punch . whitsunday coast guardian. 28 September 2017.
  3. Web site: Tom Yam Kung : Not only tasty but with medicinal properties. Thaiways Magazine. 18 December 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160201180837/http://www.thaiwaysmagazine.com/thai_article/2008_tom_yam_kung/tom_yam_kung.html. 1 February 2016. dmy-all.
  4. Web site: Tom Yum . Parawan's Thai Cooking Class . dead . 9 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220809105145/https://parawanthaicookingclass.com/courses-menu/thai-soups/tom-yum .
  5. Web site: Tom Yum Soup (Tom Yum Goong) Recipe. 1 May 2023.
  6. News: Thai Roasted Chili Paste Nahm Prik Pao) Recipe - Food.com. 26 April 2017.
  7. News: Overview of Tom Yum soup from late 19th-century Siam to present day Thailand. Thaifoodmaster. en-US. 25 January 2017.
  8. News: Ancient Siamese Recipe for Tom Yum Soup with Snakehead Fish, Roasted Chili Jam and Green Mango (First Published in 1890) (Dtohm Yam Bplaa Chaawn, ต้มยำปลาช่อนแบบโบราณ อย่างหม่อมซ่มจีน ราชานุประพันธุ์ ร.ศ.๑๐๙). 25 January 2017. Thaifoodmaster. en-US. 25 January 2017.
  9. Web site: Tom Yam Kung. thaiwaysmagazine.com. 27 February 2015.
  10. Web site: Tom Yam Kung Recipe, Hot and Sour Soup with Shrimp. thaifoodmaster.com. 4 March 2010.
  11. Web site: Spicecuisine.com. 27 February 2015.
  12. Web site: Merry's Kitchen – Sour and Spicy Chicken Soup (Tom Yam Kai). melroseflowers.com. 27 February 2015.
  13. Web site: Spicecuisine.com. 27 February 2015.
  14. Web site: ต้มยำขาหมู. 10 March 2011. YouTube. 27 February 2015.
  15. Web site: Allthaifood.com. www.allthaifood.com. 6 April 2018.
  16. Web site: Clay's Kitchen : Tam Ra Ahan Thai (Thai Recipes) ตำราอาหารไทย. panix.com. 27 February 2015.
  17. Web site: Clay's Kitchen : Tam Ra Ahan Thai (Thai Recipes) ตำราอาหารไทย. panix.com. 27 February 2015.
  18. News: Tukang masak bercuti Raya, kita pula yang berlapar. Free Malaysia Today. 21 June 2021. ms. 29 June 2018.
  19. News: Restoran Tomyam Ada Di Setiap Ceruk Semenanjung. mStar. 21 June 2021. 17 March 2016. ms.

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