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Soup season · Bangkok, Thailand
The best bowl in Bangkok: Tom yum goong
Hot and sour prawn soup with lemongrass, galangal, lime leaf and chile, here as a creamy noodle bowl topped with giant river prawns.
Tom yum is Thailand's soup, and the Bangkok version people queue for is a creamy tom yum noodle bowl with prawns the size of your hand.
P'Aor
68/51 Soi Phetchaburi 5, Ratchathewi, Bangkok
Get: The tom yum noodle soup with a giant river prawn, egg noodles, creamy broth
ขอบะหมี่ต้มยำกุ้งแม่น้ำ น้ำข้น ค่ะ/ครับTom yum noodles with river prawn, the creamy broth, please.
A shophouse that became a pilgrimage for one bowl: rich, sour, spicy tom yum with river prawns, crab and squid. Michelin has listed it for years.
Closed Mondays; go at opening or expect a wait.
Make it at home
Tom yum goong (hot and sour prawn soup)
The deepest flavor comes from the prawn heads and shells, so buy whole, shell-on prawns and make a quick stock first. The herbs are for flavor, not for eating; leave them in the bowl.
You need
- 1 lb (450 g) large whole shell-on prawns (about 12)
- 5 cups (1.2 l) water
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 3 stalks lemongrass, bottom 6 inches only
- 1 thumb (about 2 inches / 5 cm) fresh galangal, thinly sliced (ginger in a pinch)
- 6 makrut lime leaves, torn, center ribs removed
- 4 to 8 fresh Thai bird's-eye chilies, lightly crushed
- 3 small shallots, halved and bruised
- 8 oz (225 g) oyster or straw mushrooms, torn or halved
- 2 tbsp nam prik pao (Thai roasted chili paste)
- 3 to 4 tbsp fish sauce
- 4 to 5 tbsp fresh lime juice (3 to 4 limes)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) evaporated milk (optional, for the creamy nam khon style)
- A handful of cilantro leaves and sawtooth coriander, if you find it
- Steamed jasmine rice, to serve
How to make it
- Peel the prawns, leaving the tails on. Pull off the heads and keep them with the shells. Devein the prawns, cover and refrigerate.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the heads and shells and cook, pressing the heads with a spoon, for 3 to 4 minutes until bright orange and fragrant.
- Add the water, bring to a boil, then simmer gently for 15 minutes. Strain into a clean pot, pressing hard on the shells. You should have about 4 cups of stock.
- While the stock simmers, smash the lemongrass with the back of a knife and cut it into 2-inch pieces. Tear the lime leaves and crush the chilies.
- Bring the stock back to a boil. Add the lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves and shallots and simmer 4 minutes, until the kitchen smells strongly of lemongrass.
- Add the mushrooms and cook 2 minutes. Stir in the nam prik pao, 3 tbsp fish sauce and the sugar.
- Add the prawns and the chilies and cook just until the prawns turn pink and curl, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Take the pot off the heat right away so they stay tender.
- Stir in the evaporated milk if using, then the lime juice. Lime juice goes in off the heat: boiled, it turns bitter.
- Taste and balance: it should be clearly sour first, then salty, then hot. Add more lime, fish sauce or a crushed chili until it tastes loud. Ladle into bowls, scatter with cilantro and serve with rice.
Pans and tools
- Large saucepan
- Second pot for the strained stock
- Fine-mesh strainer
- Chef's knife
Chef's tips
- Galangal and lime leaves freeze well; buy extra at an Asian market and keep them frozen.
- Nam prik pao gives the soup its red color and gentle sweetness; don't skip it.
- For a clear tom yum (nam sai), leave out the evaporated milk.
Four more bowls in Bangkok
Rolled noodle soup
Rolled rice noodles in a peppery pork broth with crisp pork belly and offal, in Chinatown.
Nai Ek Roll Noodles · 442 Yaowarat Rd Soi 9, Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100
Get: Kuay jab nam sai with crispy pork (mu krob)
Kuay jab, mu krob, khrap/kha.Rolled noodle soup with crispy pork, please.
A Yaowarat noodle shop with Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition for its peppery kuay jab.
Make it at home: Kuay jab nam sai
Bangkok Chinatown's peppery noodle soup. Lots of white pepper is the point.
You need
- 2 lb (900 g) pork bones
- 3 quarts (2.8 l) water
- 6 garlic cloves and 6 cilantro roots (or stems), pounded
- 2 tbsp whole white peppercorns, cracked
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp sugar
- 1 lb (450 g) pork belly or shoulder, sliced
- 1/2 lb (225 g) cooked crispy pork belly (siu yuk), sliced (optional)
- 1 lb (450 g) dried rolled rice noodles (kuay jab), or wide rice noodles
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, halved
- Fried garlic, green onion, cilantro
How to make it
- Blanch the bones 5 minutes, rinse, and simmer in the water with the garlic-cilantro paste and pepper 1 hour.
- Strain and season with soy, fish sauce and sugar. Simmer the sliced pork in the broth 15 minutes.
- Soak the noodles 20 minutes, then cook in boiling water until they curl and soften.
- Divide noodles, pork and eggs among bowls and pour over the hot broth.
- Top with crispy pork, fried garlic, green onion and cilantro, and more pepper.
Chef's tips
- Add a few slices of fried tofu if you like.
Boat noodles
Tiny bowls of dark, spiced beef or pork broth thickened with blood, eaten five or ten at a time.
Boat Noodle Alley at Victory Monument
Get: Start with five bowls (pork and beef), stack the empties
Kuay teow reua, moo, ha cham.Boat noodles, pork, five bowls.
A canal-side lane of shops selling boat noodles in small bowls, the way they were once sold from boats.
Make it at home: Boat noodles
A rich, spiced, slightly sweet broth. Pig's blood is traditional; it can be left out (the broth is thinner without it).
You need
- 2 lb (900 g) beef bones or pork bones
- 1 lb (450 g) beef brisket or pork shoulder
- 3 quarts (2.8 l) water
- 3 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cloves, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 2 pandan leaves, 3 slices galangal
- 3 tbsp dark soy sauce, 3 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp palm sugar, 1 tbsp fermented bean curd (red) with its liquid
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) pig's or beef blood, optional
- 1 lb (450 g) thin rice noodles
- Morning glory or bean sprouts, Thai basil, fried garlic, pork cracklings, chile vinegar
How to make it
- Simmer the bones and meat with the spices, pandan and galangal in the water 1 1/2 hours. Slice the meat and strain the broth.
- Season with both soy sauces, fish sauce, palm sugar and the mashed bean curd.
- If using blood, whisk a ladle of hot (not boiling) broth into it, then stir back into the pot; keep below a boil.
- Blanch the noodles and greens in small portions and put into small bowls with slices of meat.
- Ladle over the broth and top with basil, fried garlic, cracklings and chile vinegar.
Chef's tips
- Serve in small bowls; it's meant to be eaten fast and often.
Stewed beef noodle soup
Beef noodle soup from a pot of broth that has been kept going, topped up every day, for over 45 years.
Wattana Panich · 336-338 Ekkamai Rd Soi 18, Watthana, Bangkok 10110
Get: Beef noodle soup with stewed and sliced beef
Kuay teow neua, khrap/kha.Beef noodle soup, please.
Famous for its 'forever' pot of beef broth by the window; a Michelin Bib Gourmand pick.
Make it at home: Thai stewed beef noodle soup
Bangkok's beef noodle shops braise the beef until soft in a spiced broth. Cilantro root and white pepper give it the Thai taste.
You need
- 2 lb (900 g) beef shank or brisket, in chunks
- 1 lb (450 g) beef bones
- 3 quarts (2.8 l) water
- 6 cilantro roots, 6 garlic cloves and 1 tsp white peppercorns, pounded
- 2 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, 3 slices galangal, 2 pandan leaves
- 3 tbsp light soy, 2 tbsp dark soy, 2 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp palm sugar
- 1/2 lb (225 g) beef sirloin, very thinly sliced
- 1 lb (450 g) rice noodles (small or wide)
- Bean sprouts, Chinese celery or Thai basil, fried garlic, chile vinegar
How to make it
- Blanch the bones and shank 5 minutes and rinse. Put in the water with the pounded paste, spices, galangal and pandan.
- Simmer 2 1/2 hours, until the shank is very tender. Season with the soys, fish sauce and sugar.
- Blanch the noodles and bean sprouts and put into bowls with chunks of stewed beef.
- Lay raw sirloin slices on top and pour over boiling broth to cook them.
- Top with celery or basil and fried garlic; pass chile vinegar.
Chef's tips
- Keep any leftover broth and add to the next batch, the Wattana Panich way.
Tom yum instant noodles
A huge, bright tom yum loaded with seafood and pork, poured over instant noodles, at a late-night street institution.
Jeh O Chula · 113 Soi Charat Mueang, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330
Get: Mama tom yum in the big pot, and the crispy pork belly
Mama tom yum, mo yai.Tom yum instant noodles, the big pot.
A night kitchen with Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition and queues long after midnight.
Evenings into the small hours; expect a wait.
Make it at home: Mama tom yum
Bangkok's midnight bowl: a quick, punchy tom yum broth poured over instant noodles. Toss the packet seasoning.
You need
- 4 cups (950 ml) chicken stock
- 2 stalks lemongrass, 5 slices galangal, 5 makrut lime leaves, bruised
- 4 Thai chiles, crushed
- 2 tbsp nam prik pao (Thai chile jam)
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) evaporated milk, optional (for the creamy style)
- 6 shrimp, a few squid rings, 4 oz (115 g) ground pork rolled into small balls
- 1 cup (70 g) mushrooms
- 2 packs instant noodles, seasoning packets discarded
- 3 tbsp fish sauce, 3 tbsp lime juice, 1 tsp sugar
- Cilantro, a soft-boiled egg
How to make it
- Simmer the stock with the lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves and chiles 5 minutes.
- Stir in the nam prik pao, then add the pork balls and mushrooms and cook 4 minutes.
- Add the shrimp and squid and cook 2 minutes.
- Off the heat, add the fish sauce, lime and sugar (and the milk if using).
- Cook the noodles separately, put them in a bowl, ladle over everything and finish with cilantro and the egg.
Chef's tips
- Taste: it should be sour, salty and hot in equal measure.
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No. 1 checked October 28, 2026; the other four picked the same day from local guides and menus. Places change; if one has, tell us at hello@chefamazing.com.
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