By Michael Minorgan for Curtains Up Tv
www.globalgourmets.ca michael@globalgourmets.ca
Tom Yum Goong
This soup is by far one of my all time favourites gleaned from my visits to South East Asia. Although it can be found throughout South East Asia and even Japan, it is most associated with Thailand where it is practically a national dish. It is also very common in neighbouring Laos. I’m more familiar with Thai version having many wonderful memories of eating it at countless street food stands throughout Thailand.
Tom Yum Goong is the principal version, made with shrimp or prawns. It is deceptively simple to make and if done properly with all the correct ingredients (no substitutions please!), it is beyond delicious. The soup is characterized by its distinct hot (spicy) and sour flavours and the fragrant herbs used in the broth. It is supposed to have a good ‘kick’ to it, so don’t hold back on those Thai chillies. All the ingredients are readily available in your local Asian market (Fu Tai in Cotes des Neiges Plaza is a great one)…..Enjoy!
Ingredients:
3 cups water
10-12 shrimp (leave shells on and heads if possible)
3 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
6 bird’s eyes chilies (pounded)
3 (big) slices galangal
6 kaffir lime leaves (bruised)
2 tablespoons nam prik pao (Thai roasted chili paste)
2 tablespoons oil of chilli oil
3 teaspoons fish sauce
1 stalk lemongrass (cut into 3-inch strips, pounded with a cleaver)
6 canned straw mushrooms
Method:
In a pot, bring 3 cups of water to boil. Then add a big handful of shrimp/prawn heads. Boil the shrimp head until the water turns slightly orange in color. Press the shrimp heads with spatula to extract the “goodies” from their heads. Let the stock reduce to slightly more than 2 1/2 cups. Drain the shrimp stock and discard the shrimp heads.
Add lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, bird’s eye chilies, mushrooms, nam prik bao to the shrimp stock and bring it to boil. Add in the shrimp and fish sauce. Lastly, add the lime juice (if you add lime juice too early, the soup might turn bitter). Boil until the shrimps are cooked, dish out and serve hot. Drizzle with chilli oil. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves
