Spicy Pork Rib Soup (Tom Saap Kraduk Mu)
A bold, herbal soup from Thailand's Isan region, built on tender pork ribs simmered with lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime, then sharpened with chili, lime juice and fresh dill. Hot, sour, salty and fragrant in every spoonful.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Blanch the ribs
Put the pork ribs in a pot, cover with the blanching water, bring to a hard boil over high heat and let boil for 3 minutes. This washes off blood and bone grit so the final broth stays clear instead of grey and scummy. Drain in a colander and rinse the ribs briefly under warm water.
- 1 kg pork ribs
- 2 litres water, for blanching
✅ Done when: grey foam has risen to the top and the drained ribs look pale and clean
Bruise the aromatics
Smash the lemongrass, slices and shallots with the flat of a knife or a pestle until they crack open — bruising releases far more fragrance than slicing alone. Tear the kaffir lime leaves and lightly crush the chilies with your hand or a pestle, just enough to split the skin.
- 4 stalks lemongrass
- 6 slices
- 6 kaffir lime leaves
- 8 shallots
- 8-10 chilies
Simmer the broth
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Add tomatoes and mushrooms
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Season off the heat
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Finish and serve
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Blanch the ribs
Put the pork ribs in a pot, cover with the blanching water, bring to a hard boil over high heat and let boil for 3 minutes. This washes off blood and bone grit so the final broth stays clear instead of grey and scummy. Drain in a colander and rinse the ribs briefly under warm water.
- 1 kg pork ribs
- 2 litres water, for blanching
✅ Done when: grey foam has risen to the top and the drained ribs look pale and clean
Bruise the aromatics
Smash the lemongrass, slices and shallots with the flat of a knife or a pestle until they crack open — bruising releases far more fragrance than slicing alone. Tear the kaffir lime leaves and lightly crush the chilies with your hand or a pestle, just enough to split the skin.
- 4 stalks lemongrass
- 6 slices
- 6 kaffir lime leaves
- 8 shallots
- 8-10 chilies
Simmer the broth
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Add tomatoes and mushrooms
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Season off the heat
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Finish and serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
Tom saap belongs to the cooking of Isan, Thailand's northeastern region, which shares deep culinary ties with neighboring Laos. Where central Thai tom yum leans on tamarind-sweet richness, tom saap is sharper and more herbal, built around cheap, well-used cuts like pork ribs and whatever fresh herbs are growing nearby.
It's a soup born of farmhouse kitchens, meant to be eaten with sticky rice and shared at the table straight from the pot, often alongside grilled meats and som tam.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It's loved for its fearless balance of sour, salty, spicy and herbal flavors, and for fresh dill, a herb rarely used elsewhere in Thai cooking, which gives it its unmistakable Isan character.
💡 Fun Fact
Isan food shares many dishes and techniques with Laos, since the Isan people are ethnically and culturally Lao; some food historians consider tom saap a close cousin of Lao herbal soups across the Mekong.
Isan, Northeastern Thailand
16.43°N, 102.82°E
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