Essential Beginner's Guide to Healthy Thai Cooking - The 10 Most Popular Recipes, by Jennifer Benjawan. Thailand’s most famous soup is – ‘tom yum’, a name for two similar soups originating from Laos and Thailand characterized by its distinct hot and sour flavors, with fragrant herbs generously used. The basic broth is made of stock and fresh ingredients such as lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal (in lieu of ginger), lime juice, fish sauce and crushed chili peppers. Westerners enjoy‘tom yum’ made with prawns (‘tom yum kung’). Thais use a variety of meats including chicken (tom yum kai), fish (‘tom yum pa’ in Laotian and ‘tom yum pla’ in Thai), or mixed seafood (‘tom yum talay’ or ‘tom yum po taek’) and mushrooms - usually straw mushrooms or oyster mushrooms. The soup is often topped with generous sprinkling of fresh chopped coriander leaves (cilantro).Tom yum paste is made by crushing all the herb ingredients and stir-frying in oil. Seasoning and other preservative ingredients are then added. The paste is bottled or packaged, and sold around the world. ‘Tom yum’ flavored with the paste may have different characteristics from that made with fresh herb ingredients. Download Instantly Here