Tom yum to a Thai is like tomato soup to a Briton. It's comfortable, comforting and classic...but that's where the similarity ends. For tom yum is a hot, sour and spicy soup full of aromatic flavours of coriander and lemongrass. Tomato soup is...well, it's full of tomatoes and sometimes a bit sweet.
'Tom' means to simmer or boil in Thai and 'yum' means a mix. Tom yum goong has prawns, whilst 'gai' is a chicken version, and 'pla' includes fish. So, would a miso soup version really mess up these very traditional Thai flavours? I boldly used lemon juice instead of lemongrass (so clearly not an equivalent, I know), and it was less horrific than I had anticipated. I wasn't aiming for an accurate representation, I'd simply set myself a challenging dare to make an acceptable Japanese version. Adding prawns and red chilli elevated it to a 'tom yum goong' in the making but it was the coriander and fish sauce that really nailed it the closest. The aromas transported me to Thailand! The look of it, not quite so much, although I'm proud of my exact half and half mix of tom yum and miso soups, just as a baby looks equally like mother and (sadly) father. Try my recipe, you'll be pleasantly surprised.