Name: Tom Yum Goong Nam Knon or Thai Coconut Soup
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 tbsp Coconut butter; 2 tbsp Red curry paste; 3 cloves garlic (grated); 2 tbsp ginger (grated); 1 lime; 3 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tbsp brown sugar; 400 g mushrooms; 400 g shrimps; 2 cups coconut milk; 1 cup stock; 1/2 cup parsley (chopped)

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Tom Yum Goong Nam Knon or the Thai Coconut Soup is made of coconut milk, mushrooms, and shrimps. The soup is flavored with different spices such as ginger and lime zest. It is a fine soup with an exquisite taste ready in only 30 minutes made in the Instant Pot.

I live in a part of the world where Asian cuisine is more a mystery than a culinary diversity. The first time I ever tried Asian chicken noodles I was in my early 20s. I remember I was 24 when I discovered sushi. Coco milk along with coco milk dishes became part of my diet in my early 30s, which is not so long ago. Despite me being so far from this “exotic” cuisine, I find it exceptionally delicious and it has conquered my attention and my heart. Asian cuisine, particularly the Thai one, is a new playground for me filled with puzzles of tastes and aromas. The wild combination of sweet with sour and hot is simply challenging and inviting.

For that reason, simply called Thai coconut soup, also known by the connoisseurs as Tom Yum Goong Nam Knon, is the protagonist of my article today. I will probably get too emotional later on, but this soup is my number one and I would like to be able to transmit the excitement and the fact that it is worth your time and money.

What is Tom Yum Goong Nam Knon / Thai Coconut Soup?

This Thai soup embodies, probably, the culture and spirit of Thailand. Never been there, but this is exactly how I imagine and “understand” Thailand. Combination of sweet and salted, of sweet and sour, everything in one plate. The soup is infused with a palette of tastes given by aromatic spices such as fresh ginger, lime, curry paste, and garlic. Can’t you already smell the deliciousness? When these spices open up, everything is submerged in fine coconut milk. Then on top of this already perfect taste, there’s mushrooms and shrimps. I’m salivating while writing this.

Ingredients for Tom Yum Goong Nam Knon / Thai coconut soup

While researching for the ingredients for the Tom Yum soup, I found different sources pointing out different ingredients. Therefore, as far as I understand, this soup is rather versatile and can be adapted depending on the ingredients available on the market. For instance, lemongrass is rather impossible to get in this part of the planet, therefore, I replaced lemongrass with lime zest. I can assure you it is a good substitution, the taste will not be altered while the flavor will be just perfect. See below the ingredients I used for my version of Thai coconut soup.

Coconut butter/oil
Red curry paste
Fresh garlic
Fresh ginger root
Lime
Lemon
Fish sauce
Brown sugar
Mushrooms
Prawns and shrimps
Coconut Milk
Parsley
Prawn stock

The mushrooms I used are regular champignons, however, the recommended mushrooms are shimeji or oyster. Yet, as I have already said, I am not lucky to have that kind of mushrooms available for sale, so I opted for the regular champignons. You can do the same, I promise it is delicious either way!

My advice here would be to look for coconut milk of the best quality. It has to be smooth and clumps free. That is also the guarantee for a perfect TomYum soup.

Why cook Tom Yum Soup in Instant Pot?

The main idea is to make the soup from scratch, to walk through all the steps of the preparation. The Instant Pot is my devoted friend in the kitchen, so again, I will master the soup in it. The instant pot is a perfect choice because you do the saute part and the simmering part in one place. Also, you have all the needed programs that ensure a quality cooking process from start to finish.

How to make Tom Yum Goong Nam Knon / Thai coconut soup?

Fist, shell the prawns. Do not throw them away because you’ll need it to prepare the prawn stock. This will add extra flavor to the soup and above all, it is ready in a few minutes.

Place the shells in a pot and let it come to a boil, then strain the stock and set aside for later.

Then peel the ginger using a spoon and grate it. You will need about 2 tablespoons of grated ginger. Continue with peeling the garlic, 3 garlic medium cloves are enough. These also need to be grated. At this point wash the lime then grate the lime skin, the zest will soon be used.

Now it’s time to turn on the Instant Pot, select the saute program. Pour 2 tablespoons of coconut butter. If you don’t have that, use regular sunflower oil instead. However, I find the coconut butter more suitable to this dish. When it has melted, pour the grated ginger, garlic, lime zest, and red curry paste. Whisk everything and cover the lid for 1 minute.

Go on and add 2 cans of coconut milk, 3 tablespoons of fish sauce and 1 cup of freshly made prawn stock.

Balance the taste by adding 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Mix everything and let simmer for about 10 minutes at the “soup” program on your instant pot.

In the meantime, clean the mushrooms and slice them in halves then each half in about 3-4 equal parts. When the 10 minutes expire, open the lid and add the sliced mushrooms and gently mix. Close the lid for another 5 minutes, during this time the mushrooms will be penetrated by the aroma and they will get ideally cooked.

Finally, add the prawns and the shrimps to the spiced up coconut milk. Let everything simmer for another 5 minutes. The shrimps will soak the spicy and sweet flavors and will become one with the other parts of this delicious Thai soup. Check for salt, add if needed. Turn off the Instant Pot. Your soup is ready in so little time.

How to serve Tom Yum Goong Nam Knon / Thai coconut soup?

Pour the soup in a bowl and add one tablespoon of chopped parsley to each bowl served. Cut one lemon in 4 equal parts and serve it near the bowl. If you prefer a sourer taste, squeeze the lemon juice in the soup. Also, the Thai coconut soup is well complimented by the chilly pepper. If you are eager to spicy it up even more, the chilly pepper will do the work.

How to store TomYum soup

Like any other soup, you can store the Thai coconut soup in the fridge for up to 2 days. Use a vacuum container to avoid it soaking the flavors from the fridge.