Tom Yum Soup

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 1/2 cups shrimp stock, best, canned chicken stock, or water
  • 10-12 shrimp or 8 oz(226g), head-on and shell-on but chop the eyes part off, devein if you like
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 6 bird's eyes chilies, pounded
  • 3 slices galangal
  • 6 kaffir lime leaves (bruised)
  • 2 tablespoons nam prik pao, Thai roasted chili paste
  • 2 tablespoons nam prik pao oil
  • 3 teaspoons fish sauce
  • 1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 3-inch strips, pounded with a cleaver
  • 6 canned straw mushrooms / fresh oyster mushrooms / fresh white button mushrooms

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INSTRUCTIONS

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
Little NotesYou can add chicken, a combination of chicken plus shrimp, or seafood combination (shrimp, squid, scallops, green-lipped mussels) for tom yum soup.

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