09/01/2024
Made Tom Yum Soup because I missed Bangkok.
It's the first time I've ever made it, though I don't know why.. It's easy enough when you have the ingredients.. And have someone else to chop and wash up after.
So if you don't have the help/energy/ingredients just order one in from the cheapest Thai place you can find - in my experience there is no such thing as a bad Thai restaurant.
But here's the recipe for some armchair travel if you'd like it!
Note*: I am not a chef! Just a foodie 😊
TOM YUM (creamy) Soup (vegetarian / vegan)
(for a non vegetarian one use chicken or prawns if you'd like and use the stock as the base)
2 cups mushrooms (you can use any other veg you'd like)
3 cups of water / vegetable stock (I used a mixture)
Half an onion (ideally white, I didn't have any so used a red onion), cut in wedges
1 small tomato, cut in wedges
3 gloves garlic
1 inch ginger (ideally galangal, again, I didn't have any so used the regular kind)
2 lemongrass stalks, extra leaves removed
5 kaffir lime leaves
1 tsp + 1 tsp Tom yum paste (apparently they make a vegetarian version which I used and is just as yum)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 heaped teaspoon Jaggery / Cane sugar / sugar
Scant cup creamy coconut milk
Salt to taste
Method:
Flatten / pound the lemongrass, garlic, ginger with a pestle (so therapeutic!). Crumble/tear the kaffir lime leaves. Add all to a wok/pot along with salt and the Tom yum paste. Boil for about 5 min.
Add the mushrooms and onions until half cooked. Add the tomatoes, jaggery/sweetener, lemon juice and coconut milk. Check flavour and adjust for spice, sweetness, tang and salt (Thai food is a beautiful balance of all four). Bring to a boil and immediately turn off stove and serve.
Add some chopped coriander as garnish if you wish.
Enjoy alone or with company 😊
Recipe adapted from websites: Rasa Malaysia, Recipe Tin Eats.
