Thai food is famous around the world for its cultural color and diverse flavor profiles. Thai Tom Yum Soup is a perfect example, mixing meats, vegetables, sweets, sours, and spices together to create a delicious balance that tastes a little different every time you prepare it. You’ll find it in any Thai restaurant, and chefs at Thailand Cuisine 2 in Kihei and Kahului, HI, want to share their recipe so you can introduce this famous soup into your kitchen.

Translated as “Thai spicy and sour shrimp soup,” Thai Tom Yum Soup is a staple in any Thai home. It’s easy to prepare with extremely versatile ingredients and includes the essentials of Thai food.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

• Water
• Fresh shrimp or chicken
• Limes
• Thai chilies
• Straw mushrooms
• Roma tomatoes
• Lemongrass stalks
• Kaffir lime leaves
• Galangal root
• Fish sauce
• Sugar

What makes Thai Tom Yum Soup great is the perfect blend of sour and spicy, so find a good balance between the limes, sugar, and chilies based on how you want the soup to taste. Start by bringing a pot of water to boil, and prepare the ingredients while waiting. You’ll want to slice each based on the desired texture and thickness of the soup.

Once the water begins to boil, add the sliced lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and galangal root and let sit for about five minutes. Follow that with the shrimp, Thai chilies, and mushrooms, all separated in five-minute intervals. As everything begins to come together, add the tomatoes and let the soup sit for five more minutes so all the flavors can mingle.

Take a few tastes to see if you’ve got the sour to spicy balance where you want. Adding extra sugar can tone down a sour soup, and some fish sauce will help bring everything together.

If you’re looking for a full Thai food experience, Thailand Cuisine 2’s delicious and unique menu is the perfect place to start. You’ll find an array of traditional and modern dishes, so stop by one of their two locations. Visit their website or Facebook to explore their menu, and call (808) 873-0225 to make a reservation at their Kahului restaurant, or (808) 875-0839 for their Kihei location.