Thai Style - Spicy Prawn Soup with Lemongrass (Tom Yum Koong)

by Suthep Sachasiri
One of the best known Thai dishes abroad this flavorful but spicy soup is hot, sour and fragrant. An ideal accompaniment to other Thai dishes and rice. The kaffir lime leaves, galangal and lemon grass are not meant to be eaten.

Ingredients

4 cups (1 liter) Thai Chicken Stock 3 Kaffir lime leaves 2 in (5 cm) fresh galangal root, sliced 3-4 coriander roots, washed 3 stem lemongrass, thick bottom 6-8 medium prawns or shrimp, shells intact 1 cup (5 oz/150 g) fresh or canned straw mushrooms sliced in half 5-10 bird's-eye chilies, smashed 3 tablespoons lime juice 1/2 tablespoons fresh sauce 3 springs fresh coriander leaves

Preparation

1) Bring the stock to a boil and add kaffir lime leaves, galangal root, coriander roots an lemongrass. Simmer for 15 minutes

2 Add the prawns or shrimp, mushrooms and chilies and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the lime juice and fish sauce to taste. The soup should be spicy-sour and a little salty. Serve garnished with fresh coriander leaves.

Note: Do not over cook the prawns or they will become tough. Use home made chicken stock in this dish for the best flavor. Any verity of seafood may be substituted for or added to the prawn - including sliced fish, crab or squid.

Serves: 4 Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes

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About the Author
Suthep is a true foodlover and maintains a free recipe website at http://www.foodloversweb.com and a food blog at http://foodloversweb.blogspot.com