I used to think making Tom Yum soup from scratch requires many man hours. Boy, was I wrong! Not only it is easy-peasy but I can also control the amount of heat / chilli level that goes inside. You see, we (hubby and I) are sissies when it comes to eating spicy food but yet we love them. How contradicting, eh? The number of chillies below are tweaked for a milder version, feel free to increase the amount accordingly.
Ingredients:
5 cups water
10-12 whole large prawns
3 small red chilies, bruised
2 stalks lemongrass, cut into segments and bruised
7 – 8 slices galangal aka blue ginger (lengkuas in Indonesian / Malay)
5 – 6 kaffir lime leaves, deveined and torn
1/2 cup straw mushrooms
Seasoning:
3 tbsp Thai fish sauce
½ cup lime juice (from 3 big limes)
1 – 2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp Thai chili paste
A bunch of coriander / Chinese parsley, chopped
Serves 3 – 4
Recipe source: Hot Thai Kitchen
These are all you need.
Wash the prawns. Separate the heads and shells from the body and save the prawns for use later. Devein the prawns.
Peel off the heads and shells, leaving the tails intact.
Use a small knife and cut through the flesh to remove the black veins. Yeah, it looks a tad messy, skip this pic!
Place the prawn heads in 5 cups water and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the heads and shells from the stock.
I like to sauté the shells before putting in the water to get more flavor out of them.
Use a strainer to remove the shells.
Next add the lemongrass, lime leaves, galangal and bruised chilies to the broth.
This is the “holy trinity” in Thai cuisine – lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal.
Remove the outer layer of the lemongrass as it is usually very hard. We want to use the tender portion.
Wash the galangal (blue ginger) really well and slice thinly. I kept the skin on.
Simmer for a few more minutes to allow the herbs to release their flavors (at least 5 minutes).
At this point, you can remove them from the stock. Some people like to leave them in the stock. It’s your choice!
Add the mushrooms and allow to cook through. Then add the prawns and cook until just done. Turn off heat.
Add fish sauce, sugar, chilli paste and lime juice. Taste the broth and adjust as needed.
Garnish with chopped coriander. Serve over hot jasmine rice and enjoy!
Enjoy!
Full Instructions:
Wash the prawns. Separate the heads and shells from the body and save the prawns for use later. Devein the prawns.
Place the prawn heads in 5 cups water and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the heads and shells from the stock.
Next add the lemongrass, lime leaves, galangal and bruised chilies to the broth. Simmer for a few more minutes to allow the herbs to release their flavors (at least 5 minutes). At this point, you can remove them from the stock. Some people like to leave them in the stock. It’s your choice!
Add the mushrooms and allow to cook through. Then add the prawns and cook until just done. Turn off heat. Add fish sauce, sugar, chilli paste and lime juice. Taste the broth and adjust as needed.
Garnish with chopped coriander. Serve over hot jasmine rice and enjoy!
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