What I love about this soup is that you can be creative with the different sorts of vegetables you can put in it. One of the most common is mushrooms, and here I use fresh shiitake mushrooms for their strong, earthy flavour. This soup is usually served as a side, but I have made it a main by adding Chinese cabbage, cut into strips like flat noodles. You can also include some vermicelli noodles, if you prefer. I made the soup less spicy by not using fiery bird’s eye chillies, but if you like your tom yum hot as it is in Thailand, bruise about 4 chillies and add them to the soup when it starts to simmer.
Next on Norman Musa's cooking list, try prawn vermicelli salad.
Recipe extracted from Norman Musa's Bowlful: Fresh and vibrant dishes from Southeast Asia (Pavilion Books).
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