Thai Hot and Sour Soup

Tom Yum Goong
by Robert Danhi
from Southeast Asian Flavors
(Mortar & Press, 2008)
4 to 6 servings as part of a multi-dish meal

Aromas of lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and galangal waft through the dining hall where this lightly sweet, spicy, brothy treasure is served. On my last journey to the small city of Lumnaria in the Lopburi province of Thailand, the family of one of my former students, Fah Vorarittinapap, showed me how rural Thais add a natural layer of sourness with chopped young tamarind leaves. Alas, we don’t grow tamarind in the West, so we use fresh lime juice. If you can’t find head-on shrimp, use stock (seafood or chicken) instead of water for this broth. Whenever you cook shrimp, collect the shells in your freezer. They can be used to enrich stock for soups like this. Just simmer them with the stock for thirty minutes, and then strain. The nuance of flavor they add can make all the difference.—Robert Danhi

convert Ingredients
2 pounds medium shrimp, heads on
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Thai chile jam (nahm prik pow) or store-bought chile paste in soybean oil
1 teaspoon minced cilantro roots or 1 tablespoon minced stems
4 to 6 Thai bird chiles, stems removed split in half lengthwise
8 cups water or seafood or chicken broth
6 stalks lemongrass, trimmed, sliced on diagonal into 3-inch lengths, and lightly bruised with blunt object
3 slices galangal, sliced 1/8 inch thick
10 Kaffir lime leaves, bruised
2 plum or Roma tomatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 can (15 ounce can) straw mushrooms, drained (liquid discarded), halved
1/4 cup fish sauce (nahm pla)
1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 cup cilantro leaves

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Method
1. Peel the shrimp, leaving tail attached. Quickly rinse the heads and shells and set aside. De-vein the shrimp and refrigerate.

2. Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan or wok over high heat. Add the shrimp heads and shells. Cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add the chile paste, chiles, cilantro stems, and water. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain into a new pot.

3. Add lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves; simmer 5 minutes. Add shrimp, tomatoes, mushrooms, and fish sauce. Bring back to a simmer; cook 30 seconds, until shrimp are just cooked. Remove from heat.

4. Taste and adjust seasoning using the fish sauce and lime juice. Divide the cilantro leaves among the bowls, and then ladle the soup over them. Serve immediately.

Recipe © 2008 Robert Danhi. All rights reserved.
© 2009 Leite’s Culinaria, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of use.