The Story of Tom Yum: Thailand’s Most Misunderstood (and Probably Oldest) Dish
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Tom Yum is one of the most famous Thai dishes on the planet. But the truth is, Tom Yum- at least before it was discovered by the …
Alright, this week's locations:
Mam Tom Yum: https://maps.app.goo.gl/dEW5xnKS6pTFAesG6
Tom Yum Banglamphu: https://maps.app.goo.gl/JqddGYzP1RGX9r6b6
Tom Kloang: https://maps.app.goo.gl/dKJDjSQuS9SGvSDJ7
Pork Knuckle Tom Yum: https://maps.app.goo.gl/YLAgFD7fZRhUY5zL8
Baan Daeng: https://maps.app.goo.gl/tzSUdBsvgvaDFwsa8
Tom Yum Kway Teow: https://maps.app.goo.gl/JM333B2otk93VC9g6
Jeh O Chula: https://maps.app.goo.gl/YGMMiHJSasPaMpMy8
For me, Tom Yum is arguably the best soup ever created. No other soup holds a candle.
The only thing I’d disagree with is what you said is the most common tom yum here… an imported Chinese noodle soup. Seriously? Live here for nearly a decade. Not once have I seen tom yum served as a noodle soup. Never. Doesn’t exist. Maybe at YOUR favorite restaurant. But that’s just NOT a thing in Thailand. Believe me, I wish it was. So, I’m not trying to be an ahole. In fact, I add rice to my tom yum… not noodle, but close enough… same thing… your carbs which don’t exist in tom yum. No one serves tom yum with noodles. No one. I’ve lived here for nearly a decade and visited here multiple times for a decade before then. Tom yum has no carbs. Ever. Ever.
I concur on its versatility. That’s the beauty of tom yum. As you said, it’s basically soup with stuff. Lol. Yup. Anything you want. Essentially. But carbs? No. No one serves tom yum with noodles. Anyone who serves anything with that combination will not call it tom yum. So, you can almost certainly get something like that. As I said, I put rice in mine, rather than on the side. But no, that’s not a thing.
Sorry, I get anally retentive about this because it’s my favorite Thai food, and I’ve been here a LONG time. Tom yum DOES come in massive varieties. But if it’s not sweet and sour, it’s not tom yum. Almost all have mushrooms. Almost all have galangal and cilantro as flavorings. Almost all have onions. And almost all have some protein… usually shrimp… second in line, chicken… rarely pork (but it tastes great… nothing wrong with that!!). NEVER noodles. Never ever ever. The carbs are rice on the side (which I just throw in). If they intended carbs in the soup my guess is they’d go with lotus root… an extremely underrated, underused tuber veg in Thailand. But it would go great in tom yum.
Ok, ok, ok, let me be fair. I said I’ve never seen tom yum served with noodles. LIE!! But it is always advertised as such. That is, the noodles are an obvious extra. It’s not really part of it. If a menu item just said “tom yum” and did NOT say “tom yum with noodle” it would NEVER contain noodles. THAT is what I mean. And, look, since I love the variety that tom yum allows, I’m not even trying to argue against the concoction with noodles. As I said, I throw my rice right in there. Directly. As the soup simmers, my rice cooks. I have ZERO problem with tom yum and noodles. But do you get my point?? You understand what I’m arguing here??? It’s tom yum……….. with noodles. You presented it like a STANDARD version of tom yum. I’m t isn’t. As wildly varied as tom yum can be, noodles are not an option. If you decide to add them, fine… wonderful… probably tastes great! Then it’s tom yum……………….. plus noodles. Get what I’m saying. The noodles are an add on. They are NEVER part of a basic tom yum. There’s are dozens of different things you can do with tom yum. Adding noodles is NOT one (not for basic, standard tom yum).
Maybe I’m being too pedantic. For that, I apologize. I’m focused too much on the name. BUT, since you’re trying to educate and give detail and history here, I don’t think I’m overstepping. I think it’s okay to be pedantic. And… tom yum with noodles is “tom yum with noodles”, it’s not “tom yum”. Get the difference?
Tom yum isn’t served with noodles. Ever. Anywhere in Thailand. Tom yum…………. with noodles………. might be. Tom yum, is not. I’ve never once ordered tom yum, my favorite Thai food, and had it served with noodles, unless explicitly advertised as such. It’s not a thing.
Again, sorry to be so pedantic. Sorry to get a hair up my ass about something so trivial. Loved the video, in fact. But since you’re trying to educate, let’s make sure we do so properly. Tom yum with noodles is “Tom yum with noodles”. It’s not “Tom yum”. Tom yum isn’t served with noodles. Never has been. Never will be. You can get it that way, sure. But it’s not actual “Tom yum”. It’s “Tom yum with noodles”.
Sorry for the random caps. Stupid autocorrect thinks I’m typing in a name. I corrected it about a dozen times before giving up.
I’m an expat. Living in Thailand. Most people LOVE Thai food. I hate it. Thai chicken wings are the worst on the planet… soaked in fish sauce. Who on earth wants fishy wings? Disgusting. Tom yum soup is, hands down, the best Thai food ever. In fact, I love cooking. As I write this, I’m literally seconds away from making tom yum. Literally. I was looking up a video to watch while I cook. And THIS came up. Magical. Tom yum is fabulous. And it’s something that, in Thai style, is far better. I mean, authentic, real, honest Thai tom yum. Wonderful. Best food in Thailand, IMO. My ONLY problem is the Asians’ (true in China, Vietnam and elsewhere) laziness for prepping their protein. Tom yum khun comes without being peeled. Tom yum gai comes with bones in the chicken. It’s annoying as hell. It’s pure laziness. Of course, when I make it myself, as I’m doing now, I make it RIGHT. In fact, I’m going for a crazy khun/gai combo. Shrimp and chicken combined tom yum.
And leave out the milk. That’s not typical. Nor is the holy basil. Though it’s an option. Of course, those are okay. There are many options. The broth can be clear, milk, coconut milk or even tomato. Clear is the best, IMHO. But whatever… the beauty is that there are a TON of options.
Tom yum is wonderful. The concept, as you noted, is a very basic idea. That’s why there are so many variations. Shrimp, chicken, pork and vegetarian are uncommon, but not unheard of. Amount of spicy or sour can vary. Base can be clear, milk, tomato or even a combo (I’ve had milk and tomato before). CRAZY versatile. Wonderful soup.
So, the question one might ask… what even makes it tom yum then, if there are all of these variations???? I think the basic bottom line is that it needs to be spicy and sour. All contain galangal, onions, lime, mushrooms and cilantro (actually, I’ve had some without cilantro, but that’s rare). Most contain a form of protein and most contain tomatoes as well. That’s it. Those are the basic rules. Beyond that, have at it. And that’s what makes it so wonderful. You make it what you want. It’s impossible for anyone to hate tom yum. You COULD hate the version you’re trying! Too spicy? Not spicy enough? The bones in the meat? Whatever. I’ve definitely had tom yum I didn’t like. But there IS a version that could satisfy anyone. EVERYONE loves tom yum. You may need to experiment to find the version YOU love, but everyone loves SOME version of tom yum.
Best Thai food ever.
Ever. Hands down, due to its versatility.
malaysian tomyam is better cause its spicy
Another great episode. I guess you were in Beijing for a number of years. I was in Shanghai for 10 plus. I opened a ran the first chocolate cafe in 2016 ( not as many as you have opened ). Looking forward to the next episode – cheers
मुंह में पानी ला देने वाली रेसिपी…….कृपया खाल का हिस्सा बनें। 👩🍳👨🍳🍳🍳 “““““““““““““
Thai holy trinity –
Singha, Chang, Leo
One of my favorite cuisines…FUGGHEDBOUTIT
First time seeing an OTR video and I thought this was cable television. Brilliant.
So Tom yum is the Thai version of chop suey. Stuff.
This dish was the really Thai dish.Tom Yum soup that I love ir's chicken tom yum soup.sour n very spicy and smooth.must be great Tom yum.🧆🧆🥘🥘🥘🥘🍲🍲🍲🥣🥗🍲🍛🍛🍜😋😋😋😋
Original Tom Yum doesn’t add milk. My great grandmother who is 100+ years old only made clear Tom Yum.
I've never had touristy style tom yam in Thailand, but I have had bad US tom yam: flat, insipid but sweet broth with a few red dots of oil on top and a sad mushrooms and dry chicken breast slivers in it…sorry stuff. None of the punchy sourness, funk, or heat. It's such a wonderful genre of dishes otherwise. Something interesting I've noticed in the past 5-10 years is "tom yam flavor" items in non-Thai restaurants, like an option for Chinese or Vietnamese versions of hot pot or on Korean fried chicken or Vietnamese chicken wings. And of course, there are tom yam flavored chips.
The fish in Tom Klong is Sheatfishes and has been smoked. This type of fish originates in the Sakae Krang River, Uthai Thani Province. It has a price of about 1000 baht per kilogram. There are many other types of fish that can be cooked and the price is cheaper. But it's popular. It's this kind of fish.
If you named a food with the word Klong which bascially means those dirty little river full of junks and stuffs, wouldn't sell for sure isn't it, urgh, i don't know how to type it out properly, but they're the difference thing and doesn't pronounce that way. XD
I love how most of the SEAsian food are just "yeah lets toss em together and see how it goes" and actually turned out delicious.
That Honda NSR in the background of the VHS video at the beginning is very cool.
So cool! I never actually realised creamy/milky Tom Yum was a thing, I've never been a fan of the dish (before this video!) but I've always seen it be clear in Indian Thai restaurants.
That being said, any footage of "western" tom yum always reminds me of Bengali prawn curry (malai chingdi).
Keep up the brilliant work y'all!!❤
As somewhat of an usual Tom Yum enjoyer myself, there do exists bad Tom Yum around even here in Thailand. If you are new to a restaurant and is not sure between thick or thin soup, thin usually is the safer bet as it is harder to mess up thin Tom Yum.
And while it is acceptable to add tomatoes, garlic and shallots to Tom Yum. Please don’t go crazy on the mushrooms. Just use simple mushrooms.
Great video. What's the difference between ginger and fingerroot (and galangal–is that a ginger-like thing, too?) And does the Global Thai food initiative still exist? If so, they should promote you!
20:27 I've thought you may feel hurt or offend by what she said. 55555+++ I would feel the say way brother. 🤣🤣🤣
Thank you for all your content. Your videos are nsightful and entertaining. Moreover, the deep respect and appreciation for Thai and South East Asian cuisine alike, truly does resonate from your videos. You are a gem of a creator! Thanks heaps
11:45 Tom khlóng (Thai: ต้มโคล้ง). Note there is no "a" in this word so you wouldn't say "khloang". 12:53 Note also that khlóng (โคล้ง) is not the same word as khlōng (คลอง = canal) although when transliterated into Roman script they are spelt identical but the tone and vowel is different.
Try chicken tom yum soup with young tamarine leaves (ต้มยำไก่บ้าน ใบมะขามอ่อน). It's divine 😊😊😊 Some sneaky cooks may even threw in canabis leaves into the broth for a CBD kick.
Also, don't miss Poh Taek (โป๊ะแตก) it's combination of seafoods in a constantly boiling pot of clear tom yum soup and holy basil. It's super hot and super spicy.
Mate, shrimp's brains and livers are literally the best part of the shrimp, not something "funky" to be covered up – it's how Frenchs and Italians do the Bisque, which is basically shrimp's brain soup or seafood pasta condiment
Absolutely Great Work
Has anyone ever told you you sound like NileRed