Authentic Tom Yum Nam Sai with Prawn – No Paste & Creams

Tom Yum Nam Sai is a transparent version of Tom Yum soup. In the Thai language, Nam Sai means clear broth. Often cooked with prawn as the main protein, this tom yum is made clear without tom yum paste and creams, such as coconut milk or evaporated milk. Therefore, the consistency of the soup is light with a milder taste.

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What can you expect from this prawn Tom Yum Nam Sai recipe?

This tom yum soup combines mild flavors of sour, spicy, pungent, and sweet taste with a deep herbal fragrance. The broth boiled from shrimp’s head juice sauteed with garlic releases a rich umami taste, which is essential to make a restaurant level of tom yum broth.

If you are worried about the pungent seafood smell, worry not, as the aromatic herbs and the lime juice balance it all.

This prawn Tom Yum Nam Sai is healthier and lower in calories than other types of Tom Yum.

My mother cooked Tom Yum a lot since I was little. She makes different variations of Tom Yum according to the availability of the seafood in the market.

Tom Yum has become my comfort food ever since, and whenever I go abroad, I find Tom Yum from a Thai restaurant, and that cures my homesickness immediately.

This recipe is my go-to Tom Yum recipe when I need comfort food. It has no preservatives, and I used only the best ingredients that make it authentic and healthier than the one with excessive flavor enhancers.

Ingredients to make Tom Yum Nam Sai

• Fresh prawns
• Galangal root
• Garlic
• Bird’s Eye Chili / Dried chili
• Onion
• Lemongrass
• Kaffir leaves
• Oyster mushroom
• Tomato
• Freshly squeezed lime juice
• Fish sauce – I use Red boat fish sauce
• Coriander leaves

How to clean & devein prawns

1. Cut the prawn head with scissors.
2. If the prawn comes with a long mustache, cut them off. Set them aside in a bowl.
3. For the body, peel the skin and tail from the body and place them with the heads.
4. To devein the prawn, slightly cut the spine to open the back.
5. Clean the spine by pulling and removing the black strand.
6. Slide the top of the knife under the black strand at the bottom of the prawn (where the prawn legs were)
7. Remove the black strand by pulling it out.
8. Wash the prawn under the water.

How to make Tom Yum Nam Sai

1. Make Tom Yum broth from the prawn heads and skins.

• Heat the oil in a pot, add bruised garlic, prawn heads, skin and tail, and stir to saute.
• Once the garlic turns yellow and the prawn releases orange liquid, add water and let it boil for around 3-5 minutes.

2. Infuse the soup with herbal ingredients and season.

• Remove the prawn heads, add galangal, lemongrass, kaffir leaves, chili, onion, palm sugar, fish sauce and leave it to boil for 5 minutes.

3. Cook the main ingredients (protein and vegetables).

• Add the prawns, tomato, and mushrooms and boil for 3-5 minutes. Turn off the heat and pour the lime juice.

4- Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

What to serve this Tom Yum Nam Sai soup with?

• Brown rice or jasmine rice
• Rice noodles

Useful tips

• Bruised the lemongrass instead of cutting – it makes it easier to remove before you serve as it is inedible.
• Choose fresh prawn with a head still firmly attached. It is better if you can find wildly caught.
• Add the lime juice until everything else is cooked. Cooking the lime juice will result in a bitter taste.
• To control the level of spiciness, cut open 1-2 chillis and cut more if you prefer spicier.

You may also like

• TOM YUM GAI/CHICKEN TOM YUM SOUP 
• THAI MANGO SALAD
• THAI STYLE OVEN-STEAMED FISH WITH GINGER AND LIME
• VIETNAMESE FRESH SALAD ROLL WITH SHRIMP

Authentic Tom Yum Nam Sai with Prawn – No Paste & Creams

Recipe by NudraCourse: Main FoodCuisine: Thai

Servings

4

pax

Prep

5

minutes

Cook

15

minutes

Ready In

20

minutes

Rating

5

stars

Ingredients

• 500g of fresh prawns (with head)

• 20g galangal root – Sliced

• 5 cloves of garlic – Smashed

• 6 Bird’s Eye chili – Roasted in the oven for 4-5 minutes under 200c

• 1 Big onion – Sliced

• 2 Lemongrass – Bruised

• 7 Keffir leaves – Torn

• 100g oyster mushroom – Torn

• 1 big tomato – Cut into wedges

• 3 tbsp lime juice

• 2 tbsp of palm sugar

• 2 tbsp all natural fish sauce

• Coriander leaves – for garnish

Directions

• To prepare the prawn, cut the head with scissors and set the aside in a separate bowl. Peel the skin and tail and place them with the heads. Wash and devein the prawn body. (See photo instruction below)
• Turn the heat on medium and add oil in a medium-sized pot.
• Add the smashed garlic and the prawn head & skin. Saute until the garlic turns light brown and until the prawn head releases their juice. It may take around 3-5 minutes.
• Add water and leave it to boil for 5 minutes.
• Remove the prawn head from the broth, and add onion, galangal, lemongrass, kefir leaves, chili, onion, palm sugar, and fish sauce. Leave it to boil for another 5 minutes.
• Add peeled prawn, tomato, and mushrooms into the broth and boil for another 3-5 minutes.
• Turn off the heat and pour the lime juice in. Stir thoroughly and garnish with coriander leaves.

Recipe Video

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