The Tom yum (Thai: ต้มยำ, also sometimes romanized as tom yam) is a clear soup originating from Thailand and is perhaps one of the most famous dishes in Thai cuisine.
Tom yum is characterized by its distinct hot and sour flavours with fragrant herbs generously used. The basic broth is made up of stock and fresh herbs such as lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, and shallots. The intense flavours come from the addition of fresh lime juice, fish sauce and crushed chilis before serving.
In Thailand, tom yum is usually made with chicken (tom yum gai), prawns (tom yum goong), fish (tom yum pla) or mixed seafood (tom yum talay or tom yum po tak) and mushrooms - usually straw or oyster mushrooms. The soup is often topped with generous sprinkling of chopped coriander leaves.