Tom som ( th, ต้มส้ม, ) is a sour soup of

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

origin which usually contains

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

Etymology

The word ''tom'' means "boil", and ''som'' means "sour".

History

The soup is typically made in

northern Thailand Northern Thailand, or more specifically Lanna, is geographically characterised by several mountain ranges, which continue from the Shan Hills in bordering Myanmar to Laos, and the river valleys which cut through them. Though like most of Thailand ...

. According to Chumpol Jangprai, the Thai word "som" has traditionally been used to describe anything that is sour.

Ingredients

According to Thai chef

Bo Songvisava Duangporn "Bo" Songvisava (born ) is a Thai chef and restaurateur. She and her husband, chef Dylan Jones, owned and operated Bo.lan, a restaurant in Bangkok's Sukhumvit neighborhood. In 2018 Songvisava was profiled on the fifth season of the docu ...

, the broth includes a sour ingredient such as sour

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs ...

(som makaam), bilimbi (taling pling),

nipa palm vinegar Nipa palm vinegar, also known as ''sukang sasâ'' or ''sukang nipa'', is a traditional Filipino vinegar made from the sap of the nipa palm (''Nypa fruticans''). It is one of the four main types of vinegars in the Philippines, along with coconu ...

(nam som jaak), or roselle flowers (dok krajieb sod) in a

chili paste Chili sauce and chili paste are condiments prepared with chili peppers. Chili sauce may be hot, sweet or a combination thereof, and may differ from hot sauce in that many sweet or mild varieties exist, which is typically lacking in hot sauces. ...

including krill paste (kapi),

coriander Coriander (;

root, fish sauce, and shallot. Usually a seafood such as shrimp or fish or other meat such as chicken is added near the end of preparation time.

Production method

The ingredients are simmered to make a broth, then often strained through a sieve or

cheesecloth Cheesecloth is a loose-woven gauze-like carded cotton cloth used primarily in cheesemaking and cooking. Grades Cheesecloth is available in at least seven different grades, from open to extra-fine weave. Grades are distinguished by the numbe ...

. Just before serving, small pieces of seafood or chicken are added and simmered just until cooked.

Serving

Tom som soups are eaten as a meal, as part of a meal, or as ''

aahaan kap klaem ''Kap klaem'' ( th, กับแกล้ม, ), also known as ''ahan kap klaem'' ( th, อาหารกับแกล้ม, ) or ''ahan klaem lao'' ( th, อาหารแกล้มเหล้า, ), is the Thai term for "drinking food": ...

'' (drinking food).

References