Authentic Homemade Thai Tom Yum Paste

Do you love the ever-popular Thai Tom Yum Soups? If so, you will love this authentic homemade Thai Tom Yum Paste from scratch! It's easy than you think, all you need are the right ingredients, and you are on your way to making the most flavorful Tom Yum paste!

I'm taking you on a further culinary journey by making our own authentic homemade Thai Tom Yum paste. Be forewarned. You may have difficulty buying store-bought pastes once you see how easy and flavorful making your paste is. (;

You will experience a fresh and fragrance flavor-popping paste just like the traditional Thai way of cooking Tom Yum recipes in Thailand!

When you are done making this easy Thai Tom Yum paste from scratch, be sure to immediately use your paste to make a delicious meal with some of the easy Tom Yum recipes like these recipes: Easy chicken Tom Yum Soup, Creamy Tom Yum soup with shrimp, Instant pot Thai Tom Yum soup with shrimp and Tom Yum Fried rice with roasted turkey or chicken. And even make your own Nam Prik Pao, Thai roasted chili paste.

Jump to:

• What is Tom Yum?
• Benefits of making your own tom yum paste
• Ingredients for making authentic homemade Tom Yum paste
• How to make authentic Tom Yum Paste
• Using a food processor
• Using a mortar and pestle 
• Important Recipe Notes
• Variations
• Equipment for making tom yum paste
• More Thai Recipes for your freshly made Tom Yum pastes
• FAQ
• Authentic Homemade Thai Tom Yum Paste
• Related Recipes
• Pairing

What is Tom Yum?

Tom Yum is one of Thailand's pride and joy and arguably one of the best soups in the world! The sour, salty, lightly sweet, and tangy flavors are loaded into a herbaceous broth with highly aromatic and healing herbs and fragrant spices. It is one of the classic recipes in Thai cuisine. 

Benefits of making your own tom yum paste

• You know what's in your paste! Using only fresh and natural ingredients to make a paste with minimal preservatives.
• Tom Yum paste can be stored in the fridge for up to 7 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• The freshness, flavors, and fragrance are unmatched compared to the store-bought paste.
• It's a fast and easy recipe (using the food processor method).
• Tom Yum paste is the base for many Tom Yum recipes. Check below for delicious Tom Yum recipe ideas.

Ingredients for making authentic homemade Tom Yum paste

• Dried red chili peppers. Use Thai bird’s eye chilis, Piri Piri chilis, Thai long chilis (Prik Chee Fah), De Arbol, or dried Serrano chilis. Use as much or as little as your taste buds can handle the spiciness.
• Salt. Use to help break up the chilis into a paste. It also serves as a preservative to keep many Thai pastes in the fridge and freezer longer.
• Lemongrass. An important ingredient for making many Thai pastes, including this Tom Yum paste. Adds an aromatic citrus flavor to the paste.
• Galangal. Galangal is distinctive in flavors. Do not use fresh ginger as a substitute. They are not the same thing.
• Shallot. One of the main ingredients for making Tom Yum paste. Purple onion may be substituted if necessary.
• Garlic. Most Thai pastes have garlic. It's a must ingredient.
• Cilantro stems. Use fresh cilantro roots like the traditional Tom Yum Paste if available. Otherwise, use the largest lower parts of the cilantro stems as a substitute.
• Kaffir lime zest. From the kaffir lime peel. Substitute kaffir lime leaves with a ½ teaspoon of regular lime zest, as kaffir limes are extremely hard to find outside of Thailand.
• White peppercorn. Use whole peppercorns if possible. Toasting the seeds will help extra oils for added flavors and fragrance.
• Coriander seeds. Seeds are best because you can toast them first before grinding. Toasting the seeds helps add an extra layer of smokiness to the paste.
• Tamarind concentrate. If tamarind is unavailable, fresh lime juice has slightly less suggested amount of the tamarind paste.
• Shrimp paste. Do not skip the shrimp paste if you want the traditional authentic flavor. It adds the extra umami flavors that make the paste extra flavorful.
• Oil. Use avocado, vegetable, canola, grape seed, or coconut oil in the food processor to help turn the blades.
• Water. Use only the food processor to help turn the blades if the ingredients get too dry. Stock or coconut milk is not recommended as they will alter the flavors of the paste too much.

Check the recipe card at the bottom for specific measurements.

How to make authentic Tom Yum Paste

There are two methods to making Thai Tom Yum paste. The quick and easy version in the food processor and the more traditional method of pounding all the ingredients in a mortar and pestle. Both methods are wonderful and yield great results.

Using a food processor

Step 1. Prepare the chilis. Remove the seeds using kitchen gloves. The heat from the seeds is potent and can burn your skin and cause discomfort for hours. Soak the chilis in hot water for 10 minutes. 20 minutes in warm water. Or until the chilis are soft. Drain the water and pat dry the chilis. 

Step 2.Toast the dry spices. Dry toasting the white peppercorns and coriander seeds. Once cooled, grind in a spice grinder into a powder form.

Step 3. Add all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz away until you get a fine paste. Pause a couple of times to scrape the edges of the food processor with a spatula. Add more water as needed but not too much. 

Step 4. Remove and use immediately for cooking. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week and 3 months in the freezer. 

Using a mortar and pestle 

Step 1. Prepare the chilis. Remove the seeds using kitchen gloves. Soak the chilis in hot water for 10 minutes or 20 minutes in warm water until the chilis are soft. Using about one cup of warm water is all you need for soaking the chilis. Drain the water and pat dry the chilis. 

Step 2. Toast the dry spices. On medium heat, dry toasting white peppercorn and coriander seeds until fragrant, 3-4 minutes. Do not let the seeds get too browned, or they will release a bitter, unpleasant taste. Remove from the pan and let cool for 5 minutes. Once cooled, grind in a spice grinder into powder form. Set aside until ready.

Step 3. Add the chilis and salt to a mortar and pound until smooth paste forms. Be careful with the pepper pieces jumping at you, especially your eyes. See notes for how to prevent this from happening. 

Step 4. Add the lemongrass and galangal. These two ingredients are the toughest and most fibrous ones on the ingredient list. Pound these away until smooth paste forms. This will be your hardest part about using the mortar and pestle. The best part? It's downhill from here and goes by pretty quickly after these two. 

Step 5. Add shallots and garlic. Pound away to a smooth paste. Are you getting your forearm workout yet? (; 

Step 6. Add cilantro stems, kaffir zest or leaves, and the ground-up spices. Grind to paste.

Step 7. Add the tamarind paste and use the pestle to stir to blend the ingredients in the paste form together. 

Step 8. And finally. The only thing left at this point is the shrimp paste! Add the shrimp paste last and grind together well with your pestle. The shrimp paste is the softest ingredient on the list and should be the final item added to the mortar and pestle. It helps binds all the ingredients together into a smooth, soft paste. 

That's it! You are done. Nice job!! (: You made a Homemade Tom Yum paste from scratch. Not so difficult right? Now, let's make something delicious with this fragrant paste. Check below for delicious recipes using Tom Yum paste.

Important Recipe Notes

• Ground white peppercorn and coriander powder can be substituted for whole seeds. Use only half the powdered spices as specified in the recipe card. There's no need to toast the ground spices before making the paste.

• When using a mortar and pestle method, be careful that some hot ingredients might bounce out of the mortar. Use a kitchen towel to lightly wrap around the opening of the mortar for extra caution. Eyeglasses are helpful as a safety tool too. (:

• Fresh red chilies can be used as a substitute, but be sure to remove the seeds to help reduce the spiciness. Use kitchen gloves to do this.

• A mini food chopper or processor is key to making the paste. The large ones are too big and will not chop ingredients well.

• Use a spice grinder if you have a small food processor. Make the paste in batches and combine it in a small bowl.

Variations

There are a few variations of Tom Yum recipes out there. A clear broth version uses shrimp, vegetable, or chicken broth. There is also a creamy version using coconut milk or evaporated milk. There are Tom Yum Goong (shrimp) or Tom yum fish recipes using different types of fish or seafood. Some Tom yum soups have noodles, while most are served with jasmine rice, usually in separate small bowls. The possibilities of using Tom Yum paste are endless in using Tom Yum flavored dishes. 

Equipment for making tom yum paste

• A solid stone mortar and pestle with at least a 6-inch opening.
• A food processor, a small one, is best for making curry paste.
• Spice grinder, useful for grinding up whole spices into powder.
• Kitchen scissors, handy for cutting vegetables.
• Small glass jars for storing any leftovers
• Food labeling

FAQ

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Pairing

These are my favorite drinks to serve with Tom Yum recipes