Tom Yum — Literally The Best Soup Ever

I have never been to Thailand, although I have long dreamed about it.

Basically, I am stopped by the fear of snakes and various insects, as well as the lack of a lot of free time.

For the first time, I tried Tom Yam at a European-style Asian restaurant in Riga. The waitress warned me that the soup would be spicy, but it wasn't.

Then I did some research and started making this soup at home myself. Some products are not always easy to get in Riga. For example, lemongrass.

In the last couple of years, it has appeared on the shelves of our stores, but when I first cooked Tom Yam in 2008, I had to replace lemongrass with lime zest. 

This has become my personal tradition and I keep adding lime zest to the soup, as well as lime juice.

In 2017, a Thai restaurant was opened in Riga, where a woman from Thailand was the chef. My friend and I immediately ran there and my surprise was when her soup tasted only minimally different from what I was preparing.

I mean it didn't upset me, on the contrary! I love my soup and loved the soup this wonderful woman made.

If you are from Thailand, I bow to your ancestors for inventing the best soup ever.