Tom Yum Soup

Having a weakness for sour food, tom yum soup had been one of my all time favorites. This hot and sour soup is originated from Thailand and had been popularised around the world. A little bowl of this could warm you up in an instant, and whet your appetite with the refreshing aromatic herbs in the soup. I could easily gulp down a few bowls of these, so the serving suggestion is merely serving as a guide.

Don't get taken aback by the long list of ingredients. It is actually a simple dish, not much skill needed and you simply need to put the ingredients together. Many people attribute the success of this dish to the addition of 'prik pao' roasted chilli in oil. I didn't have it on hand and... fine, I am lazy to go around looking for it either. I actually fell back to the last resort (refer to the note below the recipe) and the soup still turns up tasty as ever.

If you love sour soup like me, try it and you will fall in love with it!

Tom Yam Soup

The recipe serves 3

Level of difficulty : Easy

Ingredients

3 cup chicken / prawn stock
3 stalks lemongrass, cut into 1 inch long
2 inch by 2 inch fresh galangal, sliced
8 kaffir lime leaves
6 chilli padi (bird's eye chilli)
2 shallots, sliced
12 prawns (shrimp), medium size, deveined, deshelled, tail-on
Fresh cilantro for garnish
Pinch of salt

(B)

1 tomato, medium size, cut into 8 cubes
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 cup straw mushroom, halved
6 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons 'prik pao' roasted chilli in oil*

Cooking Directions

In a pot, bring chicken broth to a boil. Add lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves, chilli padi and shallots. Turn the heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add ingredients (B) and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Lastly, add in prawns and simmer until the prawns curl up and turn pink (cooked through).
Serve hot and garnish with cilantro.

*if you do not have 'prik pao' roasted chilli in oil, you can substitute it with tom yum paste, or thai chilli paste. Last resort? Just heat up 2 tablespoon of oil and stir-fry 1 tablespoon chilli powder until fragrant.