Tom Yam or Tom Yum (Thai soup)
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Wikipedia: Tom yum
Tom yum or tom yam (UK: /ˌtɒm ˈjæm, - ˈjʌm/, US: /- ˈjɑːm/; Thai: ต้มยำ, RTGS: tom yam [tôm jām]) is a type of hot and sour Thai soup, usually cooked with shrimp (prawn). Tom yum has its origin in Thailand. In recent years, tom yum has been popularised around the world.
The words “tom yam” are derived from two Thai words. Tom refers to the boiling process, while yam refers to a Thai spicy and sour salad. Tom yum is characterised by its distinct hot and sour flavours, with fragrant spices and herbs generously used in the broth. The soup is also made with fresh ingredients such as lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, lime juice, fish sauce, and crushed red chili peppers.
(Oxford English Dictionary)
tom yam, n.
Etymology: < Thai tomyam denoting a type of hot and sour soup, lit. ‘boiled mixture’ < tom to boil + yam mixture.
A type of hot and sour Thai soup, typically flavoured with fish sauce, lemongrass, lime juice, and chillies; spec. = tom yam kung n. Also tom yam soup.
1960 J. Blofeld People of Sun viii. 137 For soup, there was dom yam — a peppery fish soup made with coconut milk.
tom yam kung, n.
Etymology: < Thai tomyam kung tom yam with shrimp or prawns < tomyam tom yam n. + kung shrimp, prawn.
A type of hot and sour Thai soup, containing shrimp or prawns and typically flavoured with lemongrass, lime juice, and chillies. Also tom yam kung soup. Cf. tom yam n.
1969 R. Brissenden S.E. Asian Food 225 This is the ‘pure’ version of Tom Yam Kung.
1988 Gourmet Oct. 227/3 The tom yam kung soup, here a spicier and richer version than elsewhere, comes in a traditional brass ‘steamboat’, with a charcoal-heated funnel surrounded by a ‘moat’ of piping hot soup.
Google Books
Eastern Horizon
Volume 1
1960
Pg. 21:
For soup, there was a dom yam — a peppery fish soup made with coconut milk.
22 November 1961, Bristol (CT) Daily Courier, “Trip To Thailand Interesting Despite War” by Ralph Villers (UPI), pg. 7, cols. 4-5:
The chefs are expert in both Chinese and Thai cooking and can keep the diner at the table for hours with something like fried shark fins with egg and bamboo shoots, steamed crab meat, fried suckling pig, Dum Yum Goomg, a strong soup with shrimps, and fried rice, all washed down with tall bottles of Thai beer.
19 January 1964, Independent-Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA), “The Happy, Happy Land of Thailand” by Fred Taylor Kraft, Southland sec., pg. 27, cols. 3-4:
I tried Gang Tom Yam, a soup made with prawns, chicken and fish served from a charcoal brazier; ...
17 September 1964, Stamford (CT)
They started the meal with Tom Yum Gai (hot and sour chicken soup) and liked it so much she managed to acquire the recipe. I came from Thailand.
Siamese Cookery
By Marie M. Wilson
Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle
1965
Pg. 51:
Sour Shrimp Soup
Dom Yam Kung
The “Sour” soups are typically Thai. They usually contain lemon grass and makrut (Kaffir lime) leaves, both of which contribute the tart flavor but are hard to come by in this country. You find bits of red chili floating on top of the dom yam too, and the combination makes the unsuspecting eater cry and cough. These recipes are tame. Go easy on the lemon juice and cayenne. Then add as much as you can stand and you will have approximately the genuine article.
Pg. 52:
Soup Pork Soup
Dom Yam Mu
(...)
Sour Beef Soup
Dom Yam Nua
21 October 1966, The Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ), “Book Contains World Recipes,” pg. E-5, cols. 5-6:
(The Cookbook of the United Nations, Compiled by Barbara Kraus.—ed.)
TOM YUM GAI
(Hot and Sour Chicken Soup)
6 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon crushed red peppers
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 large chicken breast, cooked and cut into shreds
Bring broth to boil; add lemon juice, pepper and soy sauce. Add salt, if needed. Add shredded chicken breast; simmer for 3 minutes. Serve with fried noodles. Yield: 6 servings.
Note: Bouillon cubes are not satisfactory for this soup.
16 October 1968, Honolulu (HI) Star-Bulletin, “Try a little international cooking” by Betsy Balsley, pg. E-1, cols. 1-4:
Tom Yum Gai is a hot and sour chicken soup from Thailand.
(...)
Tom Yum Gai
6 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon crushed red peppers
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 large chicken breast, cooked and cut into shreds
Bring broth to boil and add lemon juice, pepper, and soy sauce. Add salt if needed. Add shredded chicken breast and simmer for 3 minutes. Serve with fried noodles. Yield: 6 servings.
(Bouillon cubes are not satisfactory for this soup.)
Joys and Subtleties:
South East Asian Cooking
By Rosemary Brissenden
New York, NY: Pantheon Books (Random House)
1970, 1971
Pg. 222 (Soups):
If you have one, serve Tom Yams in a Chinese Steamboat. This is a brass pot with a vent through the middle with a grate in which hot charcoal is placed. The liquid cooks and is kept hot in a sort of moat around the vent.
TOM YAM KUNG (Shrimp, Crayfish or Lobster Tom Yam)
1 1/2 lbs. raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 or 2 stalks lemon grass
2 teaspoons laos powder _or_ 3 slices fresh laos
3-5 chillies (preferably “birdseye” chillies), according to taste
4 cups water
about 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce, according to taste
1 tablespoon nam prik pao (see p. 242) _or_ 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
3 lime leaves or citrus leaves
Cut the lemon grass into about 1 1/2-inch pieces and smash the pieces with the side of a heavy knife or cleaver to let the aroma come out. Bring the water, lemon grass and laos to the boil and simmer gently for a while to allow the flavour of the spices to (Pg. 223—ed) infuse. Add the fish sauce, then the shrimp and the chillies, which have been bruised but not chopped (unless they are long ones, in which case they can have been sliced in rounds). When the shrimp have turned pink, remove the saucepan from the stove, and stir in the Nam Prik Pao or lemon juice. Pour the soup into a tureen, and scatter the torn citrus leaves over the top. Serve some lemon or lime juice separately in a small jug for guests to help themselves. This is the “pure” version of Tom Yam Kung.
When the Nam Prik Pao has been added to this Tom Yam it is sometimes turned into a sort of Thai minestra with the addition of fresh mushrooms. quartered tomatoes and chopped Chinese cabbage or chopped green onions. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and fried garlic.
PLA TOM YAM (Fish Tom Yam) ...
11 February 1971, Atlanta (GA) Constitution, “Genuine Thai Meal Needs ‘Substitutes’” by Jean Thwaite, pg. 1F, col. 3:
The first course, served in small bowls, was a soup which Bid said “That’s like a hot and sour soup, and I didn’t make it as hot as usual as it would take your head off.” This soup is called Dom Yum Kung.
4 March 1971, Los Angeles (CA) Times, “U.S. Couple Discover a New World of Cookery in Thailand” by Barbara Hansen, pt. 6, pg. 17, col. 1:
It started with Tom Yam Gai, “a soup I fell in love with,” she said. The soup consists of a chicken broth flavored with lemon juice and cilantro. The juice is a substitute for lemon grass, an herb which would be used in Thailand.
20 May 1971, The Globe and Mail (Toronto, ON), “Flavors of Overseas Postings” by Elizabeth Posgate, pg. W1, col. 5:
TOM YAM KUNG
(Lemon soup with shrimp)
SERVES 4-6
1 1/2 quarts chicken broth or stock
1 tsp. cayenne
1 bay leaf
3 black peppercorns
1 crushed garlic bud
6 small dried red peppers (or less depending on consumers)
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
1 pound cooked shrimp
6 spring onions chopped
6 lemon slices
In a stew pot put all the ingredients, but the last three, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Add shrimp and bring to a boil again. Remove from heat and garnish with lemon and onion.
This soup is meant to be fiery and is often eaten like stew, added to rice.
26 January 1973, Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer, “Eating Out: Blessed Be Those Thais That Bind Us” by Elaine Tait, pg. 1-B, col. 2:
(Thai Restaurant, 123 South 23rd Street.—ed.)
Lemon grass, a lemon flavored herb, seasoned Kaeng Tom Yum ($2.50), a hot and sour soup filled with jumbo shrimp.
21 November 1982, South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), “Let Tom Yam add spice to your Christmas” by Kenneth Mitchell, pg. 104, cols. 1-2:
In this feature, we provide you with the recipe for just one Thai dish: Tom Yam Goong. It’a an international favourite.
4 large fresh prawns
1 stalk lemon grass
2 shallots
4 small green chillies
75 ml oil
3 sweet basil leaves
salt to taste
25 g nam prik (sembal)
25 ml fresh lime juice
freshly chopped coriander leaves
serves 4
YouTube
Easy Thai Tom Yum Goong Soup Recipe (วิธีทำต้มยำกุ้ง)
Mark Wiens
Published on Apr 26, 2012
(...)
Thai tom yum goong (ต้มยำกุ้ง) is one of the most popular and widely available soups in Thai cuisine. It’s a soup that’s spiced with chilies, flavored with shrimp or another meat, and made sour with lime juice. Each bite of Thai tom yum is like a burst of invigorating flavor.
YouTube
#tomyumkung #ThaiSourandSpicyShrimp #tomyu
How to Cook Tom Yum Kung Easily and Fast
Thai Food Recipes
Published on Aug 19, 2015
‘Tom Yum Kung’ (Thai Sour and Spicy Shrimp Soup) (ต้มยำกุ้ง) is simply one the most, if not the most, famous Thai soups. Its delicious spicy taste and its unique fragrance is due to the presence of galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves. All of this contributes to the fame of this soup among foreigners visiting Thailand.