This is a recipe that makes use of the Tom Yum paste previously introduced by Rishi! Spicy, sour, and crunchy, this pao fan takes the bold flavours of Thai tom yum and pairs them with a delicious nasi lemak-inspired rice. The important step here is to take the time to pan-fry your rice before serving, creating golden crispy disc that soaks up the broth while keeping its crunch.

What you’ll learn

How to fry coconut rice into a crispy rice disc
How to build a rich, creamy seafood tom yum broth
How to assemble a restaurant-style pao fan at home

Tips

Cook the rice while the soup simmers to save time.
Press the rice gently as it fries so the disc holds together.
Cut the crispy rice into chunks and add the soup just before serving to keep the crunch.

Ingredients

Adjust Servings

US / Metric

Coconut rice

0.00

cups

Jasmine rice

0.00

cups

Jasmine rice

0.00

cup

Coconut milk

0.00

cup

Coconut milk

0.00

cups

Water

0.00

cups

Water

0.00

tsp

Salt

0.00

tsp

Salt

0.00

tsp

Coconut oil (or plain veg oil)

0.00

tsp

Coconut oil (or plain veg oil)

Tom Yum Soup

0.00

cups

Chicken or seafood stock

0.00

cups

Chicken or seafood stock

0.00

stalks

Lemongrass

0.00

stalks

Lemongrass

0.00

pieces

Kaffir lime leaf

0.00

pieces

Kaffir lime leaf

0.00

tbsp

Tom yum paste

0.00

tbsp

Tom yum paste

0.00

slices

Galangal

0.00

slices

Galangal

0.00

cup

Coconut cream

0.00

cup

Coconut cream

0.00

bunch

Shimeiji mushrooms, trimmed and seperated

0.00

bunch

Shimeiji mushrooms, trimmed and seperated

0.00

tsp

Fish sauce

0.00

tsp

Fish sauce

0.00

tbsp

Brown sugar

0.00

tbsp

Brown sugar

0.00

Fresh prawns (cleaned, heads and tails on)

0.00

Fresh prawns (cleaned, heads and tails on)

0.00

Live clams, cleaned

0.00

Live clams, cleaned

0.00

tbsp

Lime juice

0.00

tbsp

Lime juice

Garnish

Coriander leaf

Steps

1

Rinse rice, then combine with coconut milk, water and salt. Place in rice cooker to cook on regular settings.

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2

While rice is cooking, combine lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, and galangal with stock. Bring to a gentle simmer for 8 minutes.

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3

Add coconut milk, tom yum paste, mushrooms, fish sauce, and sugar to the broth, and simmer for 5 minutes.

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4

Add prawns and clams, and simmer gently for 3-4 minutes until seafood is just cooked. Finish with lime juice.

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5

When rice is done cooking, heat coconut oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and press rice into pan.

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6

Fry for 10-12 mins on medium heat, pressing gently throughout to make a rice disc.

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7

Flip out of pan to serve, then cut into chunks to combine with tom yum soup.

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8

To finish your dish, place crisp rice chunks in a bowl, then ladle tom yum soup over, before arranging seafood and adding your preferred garnish items. Season with additional lime juice, fish sauce and sugar if desired. Serve hot!

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