Soup is not a starter in Thailand. It is a core plate in a proper shared meal, next to curry, stir-fry, and salad. A table without a broth is unfinished. The range runs from tom yum — one of the world’s great hot-and-sour soups, UNESCO-listed as tom yum goong in 2024 — through coconut tom kha, the gentle house gaeng jued, and Isan’s herbal gaeng om.
How the table works: How to order. Heat at the caddy, not as a complaint: Chilli and condiments.
Tom yum (ต้มยำ)
Hot-and-sour, aromatics first: lemongrass smashed, galangal sliced, kaffir lime torn, bird’s eye bruised, shallots, straw or oyster mushrooms. Seasoned with fish sauce, lime, and often nam prik pao (roasted chilli jam) for depth and colour.
| Version | Name | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Clear | Tom yum nam sai (ต้มยำน้ำใส) | Purist. Sharp, clean, sour-spicy. All flavour from aromatics. |
| Creamy | Tom yum nam khon (ต้มยำน้ำข้น) | Evaporated milk or coconut cream plus extra nam prik pao. Orange, softer, the export favourite. |
| Variation | Protein |
|---|---|
| Tom yum goong | Prawns — the famous one |
| Tom yum gai | Chicken |
| Tom yum pla | Fish |
| Tom yum talay | Mixed seafood |
| Tom yum het | Mushroom (vegetarian if the stock and paste are; shrimp paste hides) |
2024: tom yum goong inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. That is culture, not a slogan on a tourist menu.
Where (Bangkok names that have earned repeats): Pe Aor (Ekkamai) for nam khon and large prawns; Krua Apsorn for clear; riverside seafood for river prawns. Prices move. A street bowl and a tourist “tom yum” are not the same soup. Street food.
Tom kha gai (ต้มข่าไก่)
Coconut-galangal chicken. Where tom yum is a slap, tom kha is a wrap. Galangal (kha) is the name and the point. Coconut body, lime at the end, fish sauce, restrained chilli, mushrooms, chicken poached in the cream.
It sits on the soup/curry border: thick enough to spoon over rice. On a shared table it is both.
Vegetarian versions exist when the stock is not chicken and the paste is not shrimp. Read. Vegetarian and vegan.
Gaeng jued (แกงจืด)
“Bland curry” — a mistranslation. It is subtle: the palate-cleanser beside chilli and coconut.
- Wun sen — glass noodle, minced pork, tofu, vegetables
- Tao hu — tofu, pork, spring onion
- Phak — vegetable
- Mara — bitter melon and pork; medicinal, acquired
Light pork or chicken stock, fish sauce, garlic, white pepper, maybe soy, coriander. The relief valve.
Gaeng om (แกงอ่อม)
Isan herbal soup: dill (rare elsewhere in Thai cooking), lemon basil, spring onion, chilli, galangal, lemongrass, pumpkin/bamboo/greens, chicken or pork or frog. Almost medicinal in the best way. If you liked som tam pla ra, you are in the right province. Som tam and salads, Regional flavours.
Jok and khao tom
Jok (โจ๊ก) — rice cooked until it breaks into congee. Minced pork, raw egg cracked in, ginger, spring onion, fried garlic, white pepper, fish sauce, soy. Patongo (fried dough) for dunking. Dawn shops and late-night recovery. A 05:00 bowl under fluorescent tubes is one of the quieter Thai experiences.
Khao tom (ข้าวต้ม) — thinner, grains still whole. Fish, seafood, or pork. South and older palates. Late-night more than breakfast.
7-Eleven will sell you a Mama cup at 15–30 THB when the jok shop is shut. That is logistics, not a broth tradition. 7-Eleven meals.
| Pin (2026, bands not SKUs) | Typical |
|---|---|
| Street soup (one person) | Often ~฿50–150 — verify the board |
| Tourist tom yum goong with river prawns | A different number |
| Mama cup | 15–30 THB |
| 7-Eleven rice box | 45–69 THB |
| UNESCO tom yum goong | 2024 |
On the shared table
A proper communal meal (3–5 people) usually wants:
| Component | Example |
|---|---|
| Curry | Green curry, or whatever the house does |
| Soup | Tom yum or tom kha or gaeng jued |
| Stir-fry | Pad krapao, cashew chicken |
| Salad | Som tam, larb, yam |
| Dip | Nam prik, raw vegetables |
| Rice | Jasmine, steamed |
Soup is not eaten first. Everything arrives; you alternate. Liquid against coconut, heat against rice. Curries, Rice dishes.
Home kit, searches not SKUs: Thai fish sauce, granite mortar if you are pounding nam prik, coconut milk for tom kha, dried Thai chilli. Galangal is not ginger. Lemongrass is the woody stalk, smashed.
Mai phet if you need it, before the bowl arrives. Gateway first-week food is allowed to be a rice box. First week. People & Spirit if you are slurping next to a dawn alms line: do not photograph the bowl. Temple etiquette.
Next
How to order, Curries, Som tam and salads, Chilli and condiments, Street food.