Leftover Turkey Tom Yum Soup {Hot & Sour Thai Soup}

I had my first taste of Tom Yum Soup (which literally means hot and sour soup) on honeymoon in Thailand 8 years ago. This hot, sour and salty broth, with huge juicy prawns floating in it, immediately became my all time favourite soup. If I'm in a Thai restaurant, I'll order it.

Until recently, I had no idea just how easy and ridiculously quick it is to make Tom Yum Soup at home. Most of the ingredients, which I always thought to be exotic and difficult to source, are readily available in supermarkets.

Tom Yum Soup is so adaptable, and it works really well with leftover roast turkey. It's fresh, zingy and light, so a welcome contrast after the indulgence of Christmas dinner. The flavours revitalize dry meat and turn leftovers into a feast. The ingredients include ginger, lemongrass and lots of chillies, so it's guaranteed to blow away winter colds and clear stuffy noses. It's also surprisingly filling, but add cooked noodles at the end if you want to bulk it out.

Turkey Tom Yum Soup is obviously too hot for kids, so if you want something similar for them, try making a simple noodle soup with chicken stock, leftover turkey, dried noodles and vegetables such a sweetcorn or peas.

Leftover Turkey Tom Yum Soup {Hot & Sour Thai Soup}

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 8 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

600ml chicken stock + 600ml water (or 1.2 litres water)
2 lemongrass stalks, bruised and cut into 5cm lengths
Thumbsized piece of fresh ginger, cut into thin slices
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2-5 fresh hot chillies, sliced (I used 4 finger chillies)
350-400g leftover cooked turkey, shredded or chopped
150g button mushrooms, or cherry tomatoes, or a mix, halved
4 x spring onions, washed and sliced (optional)
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce (to taste)
Juice of 2 limes
4 tablespoons coconut milk (optional)
Few sprigs of fresh coriander to serve

Method:

Put the stock, water, lemongrass, ginger, sugar and chillies into a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the leftover turkey, mushrooms, tomatoes and spring onions if using. Simmer for a further 2 minutes.
Add the soy sauce and lime juice. Taste and add more soy sauce or lime juice if you like. Stir through the coconut milk if using and serve in bowls topped with fresh coriander.

TIP: Adding coconut milk will just take the edge off the heat, but using a splash of normal milk will also have the same effect if you don't have coconut milk. If you prefer, fish out the lemongrass and ginger slices before serving. They are just there to provide flavour and not great if accidentally eaten.

You might also like