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Tom Yum Noodle Soup

Bowl with tom yum noodle soup with shrimp and fish blocks topped with coriander.
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Spicy, sour and savory, Thai Tom Yum Noodle Soup is a quick and easy comforting weeknight meal that’s exploding with bold flavors! It’s ready in under 30 minutes, customizable with your favorite protein and noodles, and so DELICIOUS!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 18 grams / 1 small Asian Red Shallot – thinly sliced
  • 15 grams / 3 Thai Red Chilies (Bird’s Eye or any other small hot red chilies – to taste, note 1) – destemmed, roughly chopped
  • 12 grams / 2 Garlic cloves – destemmed, roughly chopped
  • 40 grams / 3 Cherry Tomatoes – halved
  • 30 grams / 1 Cremini Mushroom (or any other type of mushrooms) – sliced
  • 2 Makrut Lime Leaves (note 2) – destemmed, minced into a fine powder
  • 6 grams / 1 TSP Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base (or use 250ml/ 1 cup store-bought or homemade chicken broth – note 3)
  • 250ml / 1 cup boiling Hot Water
  • 200ml / 7 fluid ounces Water
  • 20 grams / 1 TBSP + 1 TSP Tom Yum Paste (note 4)
  • 15 grams / 1 TBSP Thai Chili Paste/Chili Jam (Nam Prik Pao – note 5)
  • 30ml / 2 TBSP Evaporated Milk
  • 100 grams / 3.5 ounces peeled and deveined Shrimp (or prawns) – rinsed thoroughly
  • 170 grams / 6 ounces Fried Triangular Fish Blocks (note 6)
  • ¼ TSP Thai Chili Powder (substitute with crushed red pepper if unavailable)
  • ¼ TSP sugar-free granulated White Sugar Replacement (or other sweetener of choice – note 7)
  • 1 TBSP Fish Sauce, to taste
  • 1 TBSP freshly squeezed Lime Juice
  • 55 grams / 1.94 ounces Thin Dried Egg Noodles (or other noodles of choice)
  • To Serve: chopped Coriander (Cilantro)

Instructions

Prep:

  1. Prepare the ingredients: Thinly slice the shallot. Roughly chop the chilies and garlic. Using a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic and chilies into a coarse paste and set aside. (If you don’t own a mortar and pestle, finely chop them instead.) Halve the cherry tomatoes, slice the mushrooms, destem the makrut lime leaves and mince into a fine powder. Combine the Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base with the boiling hot water in a heatproof measuring glass and mix well to make chicken broth.

Tom Yum Noodle Soup:

  1. Build the broth: Pour the chicken broth and water into a small pot and set over medium-high heat.  Add the tom yum paste, shallots, smashed garlic and chilies paste and minced makrut lime leaves. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and simmer for another minute.
  2. Add evaporated milk and Thai chili paste: Pour in the evaporated milk and add the Thai chili paste. Stir until the paste has dissolved.
  3. Add the proteins and cherry tomatoes: Add the shrimp, triangular fish blocks and cherry tomatoes. Simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the shrimp is just cooked.
  4. Season: Remove from the heat and stir in lime juice, fish sauce, Thai chili powder and white sugar replacement. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
  5. Prepare the noodles: Cook the noodles in a pot of boiling water according to package instructions. Drain well once cooked and transfer to a bowl for serving.
  6. To Serve: Ladle the tom yum broth, shrimp and fish blocks over the noodles in the bowl and garnish with chopped coriander. Serve hot.

Equipment

Notes

  1. Thai Red Chilies. Use less or more depending on your heat level preference.
  2. Makrut Lime Leaves. Also known as kaffir lime leaves, this fragrant Thai herb has a citrusy aroma and adds a sweet lime-like scent and flavor to Thai food. Find it in a Thai grocery store or substitute with the ground dried version or dried makrut lime leaves, which both can be found in most well-stocked mainstream supermarkets.
  3. Thai Chili Paste/Chili Jam (Nam Prik Pao). A sweet and savory jarred roasted chili paste that has the texture of jam. It’s also known as “roasted chili paste” or “roasted chili paste in soybean oil”. Find it in a Thai or Asian grocery store or order a jar online.
  4. Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base: I used this bouillon paste to make a robust flavored chicken broth by combining it with hot water. Store-bought or homemade chicken broth can be used instead.
  5. Tom Yum Paste. I use a store-bought instant tom yum paste for convenience instead of using several fresh Thai aromatics. My favorite brand is Por Kwan which is hotter and not as sweet as other instant tom yum paste brands. However, any brand will work and you can tailor the spice and sweetness levels to your liking by adjusting the amount of sugar, fresh chilies, and chili powder you add.
  6. Fried Triangular Fish Blocks. I used a pack of triangular shaped fried fish blocks. They are available in packs in the fridge section of Asian supermarkets. Feel free to substitute with any other protein of your choice. Some good options are sliced chicken thigh fillets or tenderloin, Asian fish balls, fish tofu, fried tofu puffs, pan-fried tofu, etc. You can also top off your bowl with a medium boiled egg, dumplings or wontons.
  7. White Sugar Replacement. I used Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener Classic which is a monkfruit and erythritol blend. Use any other sweetener you prefer.
  8. Make ahead tips and storing. The soup can be made ahead and stored in the fridge in a sealed airtight container for 2-3 days. Reheat in a pot on the stovetop. Cook the noodles just before serving, then ladle the reheated broth on top and garnish with coriander.
  9. See the ‘Variations’ section in the post above if you’d like to customize this tom yum noodle soup.

Nutrition