Tom Yum Soup With Tofu and Vermicelli Recipe (2024)

I’d suggest substituting the zest from 1 lime instead.

This web page has good substitutions for hard-to-find Thai ingredients. https://www.rosasthaicafe.com/thai-ingredients/thai-ingredient-test

Would coconut milk be a reasonable substitute to keep this non-dairy? Thanks.

This recipe is delicious. Do not be deterred because makrut lime leaves are not available. A few substitutions I made:Soy sauce = Coconut aminos to make GFSambal Oelek = Vietnamese chili paste we had in the fridgeMakrut lime leaves = zest of one limeThere are a couple of deviations we made that may help you:3oz of noodles is not enough for four people. I added 2x, but next time I will do 10 oz. I also used the entire can of coconut milk (DF) and used shredded chicken. YUMMY

I see many comments (here and for other recipes) talking about ingredients that, for the writer, seem unobtainable. This is puzzling to me. If you have an internet connection, you don't need a bunch of specialty grocery stores, or for that matter even a car to drive to them. Within a few minutes on Amazon, I can order Mung Been Vermicelli, Nam Prik Pao, Sambal Oelek, lemongrass (dried, paste or even fresh), Makrut leaves (also dried or fresh), and probably every other ingredient here.

The text at the beginning of the article specifically says that coconut milk can be substituted for the evaporated milk.

There is barely an ingredient you cannot order from Amazon, even though I detest Amazon and curse myself every time I order something. I'll agree that fresh lime leaves and lemongrass are often hard to find--you might have to travel to find them. Or do as I have done: stop into a local Thai or Vietnamese restaurant and offer to buy them. More often than not, they'll give them to you for free.

I don't have access to makrut lime leaves but do have a lime tree in a container on my deck. Can those leaves be substituted?

Shoprite carries lemongrass and ginger. Kafir lime leaves and galangal is obtainable from any Asian market.

Make sure you taste your broth for salt before adding more! Mine didn’t need any extra. Also, this recipe could have used more liquid (because the resulting broth is delicious). I used a pho cube for stock, sriracha for the sambal oelek, galangal and coconut milk, with everything else as indicated. It tasted like I was at a restaurant! Felt like I’d done a magic trick.

i agree. i'd also encourage people to look while they're in the grocery store too. here in MA, market basket (a new england chain grocery store, nothing fancy) carries a variety of rice noodles, as well as sambal oelek, lemongrass, and many other "unobtainable" ingredients from all over the world. i've also found makrut lime leaves can be had on ebay - i've ordered them from sellers that can just grab some from their yard and pop them in the mail. i wrap and freeze what i don't use.

This is a delicious soup! And very forgiving. I subbed Trader Joe’s Thai style green chili sauce which lists lemongrass and makrut lime leaves in the ingredients, for the sambal oelek. Lime zest and lemon zest instead of the leaves and lemongrass (what I had) , and wheat capellini for the rice vermicelli. I added an extra 1 1/2 cup homemade instant-pot broth I had in the fridge. Bok choy on the side. I’ll make it again for sure!

Yum! Adhered to recipe with a few subs with supplies on hand:tamari p/o soy,fermented chilibean saucep/o sambal olek, 8 oz white mushrooms p/o shiitake, 18 oz. firm tofu p/o silken,4oz. rice vermicelli and omitted salt and milk. Wonderful mix of sweet,sour salty and spicy. Delightful light meal in a bowl. Came together at stove quite easily after prep. Make sure to remove lemon grass prior to eating as recipe states.

I often buy fresh curry leaves on Etsy from small growers. They arrive quickly and fresh and I freeze them. I think the same should be possible for lime leaves.

Thanks for posting this!

Needed more broth. I could tell half way through that it needed far more than 4 cups. I used ramen bone broth and ramen noodles. Great flavour. I used shredded chicken.

This has great flavour, however it needs more broth. I added ramen bone broth to elevate and could see half way through cooking it needed far more than 4 cups. I used shredded chicken and ramen noodles. Will make again. It was a hit!

This was very yummy (so to speak). However, the rice noodles ended up just dissolving and congealing. Would use sturdier noodles next time. Definitely more tomatoes. Definitely whole can of coconut milk. Would try with poached shredded chicken also. Used frozen lemon grass, which worked well.

Used ramen (brown rice and millet) instead of rice noodles

Use a richer broth. Full strength broth.

Added some leftover rotisserie chicken, a can of water chestnuts and substituted coconut milk for the evaporated milk. Delicious!

Strikingly good! Lemongrass and (kefir) lime leaves make the dish. I was worried the ginger discs would to too strong when encountered while eating, but they'd mellowed quite a bit. Next time I'll punch up the sambal oelek a bit more and maybe add a tsp of fish sauce.

This was a lot of fun to make; I enjoyed how the recipe is written out in such a step by step format.I will say: be sure you serve it right away!! I didn’t, and my noodles soaked up all the soup and it turned into a noodle dish, which people had multiple servings of, but I wanted soup. Also, I didn’t have makrut lime leaves and it was missing something, flavor wise, so don’t skip that.

I strained out the aromatics (lemongrass, lime leaves and galangal) before adding the mushrooms as they're all too tough to eat. Used reduced sodium soy sauce and broth base but still didn't feel the need for additional salt. Did add more lime juice--probably at least another tablespoon. Used four bundles of vermicelli which was more than 3 oz. I will make this again and may also make a meat version with chicken breast. I like the idea of making the stock ahead of time.

Funny…had a lovely conversation with the proprietor of a Thai restaurant in Half Moon Bay who told me that tom kha is traditionally vegetarian. I assume a Thai woman would know her culture’s food.

As written, this soup needed funk for me- and less salt. I made a couple of modifications that resulted in a soup we really enjoyed. More mushrooms, chicken instead of tofu, more lime juice (about 1 tbsp more), more samba oelek (about double the amount), coconut milk, and 2 teaspoons of fish sauce. I tasted the base after following the recipe (with only one teaspoon of salt) and it was kind of boring. So once again, I started with the basics and modified to taste. It's what cooking's about.

Just made this as the first meal for a vegan January. It's very tasty, with a good tingle from the spiciness. I substituted lime zest for the leaves and Thai green curry paste for the sambal oelek, and did not use any milk. I only added one tsp of salt, which was plenty. Next time I will add at least another cup of broth for a better noodles/broth balance.

Can I make this a day ahead or will the noodles start to dissolve?

Two tweets for next time-it was way too salty, so will only add salt at the end to taste; too many noodles, so I’d use 1.5 oz of noodles next time.

double the recipe or add more broth