Thai fish rice soup (khao tom pla)

Khao tom: a breakfast inherited from rural Thailand

Khao tom, or Thai rice soup, is one of the Kingdom's best-known traditional dishes. It is most commonly eaten for breakfast and dates back to a time when much of the population performed physical labour and needed a meal that could provide both energy and lasting satiety at the start of the day.

Unlike jok (congee), in which the rice is cooked until it breaks down, khao tom retains clearly visible grains of rice in a fragrant broth. There are many variations, including versions made with pork or fish.

In this recipe, we will prepare khao tom pla, a Thai fish rice soup. The broth is enriched with shiitake mushrooms, known in Thai as het hom, literally meaning "fragrant mushrooms". The fish is gently poached at the end of the cooking process so that it remains intact. Just before serving, ginger, celery leaves, spring onions and fried garlic add further layers of flavour and texture.

Thai fish rice soup recipe (khao tom pla) – Serves 2

Ingredients

Fish marinade

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

10 g galangal

1 garlic clove

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon fish sauce

200 g white fish fillets, sliced

Rice soup

1 litre chicken stock

100 g jasmine rice

80 g fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced if large

(or 8 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked for 20 minutes)

Seasoning

½ teaspoon salt

1½ tablespoons fish sauce

Garnish

10 g ginger, finely julienned

10 g celery leaves, roughly chopped

10 g spring onions, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon fried garlic

Method

Prepare the fish marinade. Pound the peppercorns, galangal and garlic into a smooth paste. Add the fish sauce and sugar. Gently mix with the fish and leave to marinate for 20 minutes.

Bring the chicken stock to the boil. Add the rice, mushrooms, salt and fish sauce. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes. Taste the soup to check that the rice is cooked and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Add the fish and cook for a further 1 to 2 minutes.

Transfer to serving bowls and garnish with the ginger, celery leaves, spring onions and fried garlic together with a little of its garlic oil.

Learn more about Thai rice soups

Khao tom is just one of the major families of rice soups enjoyed in Thailand. To better understand the differences between khao tom and jok (congee), as well as the main variations found throughout the Kingdom, take a look at our article dedicated to Thai rice soups.

If you would like to discover another classic recipe, we also recommend trying our jok (congee) with pork meatballs, another breakfast dish that remains popular throughout Thailand.

This recipe is taken from our book dedicated to Thai soups. Inside, you will find many other traditional recipes, from stocks and broths to noodle soups, coconut milk soups such as tom kha kai, hot and sour soups such as tom yam, and clear soups.

Finally, if you would like to learn how to prepare these dishes with Thai chefs, discover our private Thai cooking classes on Koh Samui. We offer introductory classes as well as more advanced training for enthusiasts and culinary professionals.