this soup is as easy as combining five ingredients in a pot and waiting for 10 minutes! I highly recommend tracking down tom yum paste, as it forms the base of your flavour. plus, you’d need even more ingredients to substitute it to find the right balance. tom yum paste should be available in the international aisle of your major supermarket or at your local east/southeast asian grocery store. if you’re looking for a quick—and I mean rrreeaallyy quick—appetizer with low effort and high gain, you’ll win with this one. add a little rice vermicelli to make it more filling, or a lot to make it a full meal. we all deserve an easy fix sometimes!

Makes 8 appetizer portions or 4 main portions if you add vermicelli

Ingredients

1 tiny can (5.6 oz/165 mL) coconut milk
1 1/2 L stock or water
1 1/2 tbsps. tom yum paste (substitute with 1 1/2 tbsps. chili jam, the juice of 1 lime, 2 tsps. brown or palm sugar, and 1 tbsp. fish sauce)
1 tbsp. brown or palm sugar
2 makrut lime leaves

Additions

bean sprouts, raw
mushrooms, sliced and cooked in broth
cilantro + green onions (weed), chopped
raw shrimp, deshelled and poached in broth
rice vermicelli, soaked for at least 15 mins in room temp water and blanched in boiling water

Instructions

In a small to medium-sized pot, combine all 5 ingredients.

Gently bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook for 10 minutes. Do not let it come to a boil. Taste for seasoning. Adjust with lime juice for more acid, fish sauce for more oomph, and sugar for more sweetness.

Add extra additions and serve!