If I’m ordering Thai food, there’s always one issue that requires delicate negotiations and monumental compromise: tom yum or tom kha? OK, tom yum usually wins; it’s more crowd-pleasing with its sweet and sour flavor than tom kha, which is heavily influenced by the coconut milk.
But why order out when you can make a big pot of it right in your own kitchen? This recipe isn't nearly as involved as you might think, and the result is sure to please everyone at your dinner table!
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Cooktop Cove
Thai Tom Yum Soup
4
15 minutes
30 minutes
45 minutes
2 quarts of chicken stock
2 stalks of lemongrass
1-inch chunk of galangal, peeled
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled
3 cloves of garlic, minced
5 kaffir lime leaves
5 red Thai chilies, whole
6 tablespoons fish sauce
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon red curry paste
1 white onion, thinly sliced
14 ounces peeled and deveined shrimp, fresh or frozen
3 ½ ounces of oyster mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Place a large saucepan over medium heat and add the stock.
Peel the outermost leaves off the lemongrass and gently whack the stalks with a mallet or rolling pin to release the flavor. Slice into chunks of about ½ inch and add to the stock.
Thinly slice the galangal and ginger and add those to the stock as well as the garlic, kaffir lime leaves and red chilies, and bring everything to a simmer. Cover the saucepan and cook 20 minutes.
Pass the stock through a fine sieve (you can skip this step for a more authentic version of the soup; I prefer to remove the leaves and stalks for ease of eating) and return it to the saucepan and the heat.
Add the fish sauce, lime juice, honey, curry paste and onion. Stir well.
Bring the mixture back to a simmer and cook 5 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and shrimp, and cook an additional 5-10 minutes or until the shrimp is cooked through.
Remove from the heat and add the cilantro. Serve immediately.
