Chicken tom yum soup recipe

This chicken tom yum soup is a big bowl of warmth that packs a spicy punch.

Chicken tom yum soup is a fragrant Thai soup, based on a spicy, clear chicken broth. It’s star ingredient is the tom yum paste - a heady, hot and fiery blend of shallots, garlic, chillies and tomato puree, that is mixed with a variety of asian herbs and spices for full-on flavour. We’ve used a shop bought version to save time and money. Look out for jars in the speciality ingredient sections of larger supermarkets. You’ll only need a small amount for this soup, but once opened it will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks. For a more filling meal serve with a mound of cooked jasmine rice, Thai coconut rice, or some boiled rice noodles.

Ingredients

• 1tbsp vegetable oil
• 6 spring onions, trimmed and sliced
• 400g skinless chicken breast fillets, cut into thin strips
• 1tbsp tom yum paste
• 900ml chicken stock
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 150g green beans or mange tout
• Few small whole red chilli peppers, optional
• 1tsp caster sugar
• Squeeze of lime juice
• 1tbsp fish sauce
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Handful of fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large wok or deep frying pan and fry the spring onions for 2 to 3 mins. Add the chicken strips and stir-fry for 4 to 5 mins until no longer pink. Stir in the tom yum paste and cook for 1 min.
2. Pour in the stock and add the lime leaves and green beans or mange tout and small whole chilli peppers, if using. Simmer gently for 10 to 15 mins until the chicken is just cooked.
3. Add the sugar, lime juice and fish sauce and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in the coriander and simmer for 1 to 2 mins until just wilted. Serve in warmed bowls.

Top tip for making chicken tom yum soup:

Replace the green beans or mange tout with quartered baby aubergines or halved brown cap mushrooms, if liked.