Tom Yum Fried Rice: the whole soup, in a wok

19 July 2026 · 2 min read · Rim Thang Thai, Glenelg

If tom yum soup and fried rice had a favourite child, this would be it. Tom Yum Fried Rice — khao pad tom yum — takes the hot-and-sour flavours everyone chases in the soup and folds them straight through the rice. All the punch, none of the spoon.

The soup, reduced into rice

The building blocks are the same ones that make tom yum soup sing — lemongrass, kaffir lime, a hit of chilli and that signature sour-savoury tang. Instead of a broth, they season a wok of jasmine rice fried hard and fast, so every grain carries the flavour and picks up a little of that toasty wok hin edge.

Hot and sour, your call

Tom yum lives on the tension between heat and sourness, and we'll pitch it wherever you like. Want it fragrant and gentle? Easy. Want it to bite back? Say the word. It's a full meal on its own, and a very good idea alongside something creamy — a mild curry balances the sour beautifully.

On the menu

Tom Yum Fried Rice sits on our fried rice menu at $18.90, dine-in or takeaway on Jetty Road. Can't choose between the soup and the rice? Our tom yum vs tom kha guide is a good next read.