Recipe: Thai Hot-and-Sour Shrimp Soup (Tom Yum Kung)

Thai Hot-and-Sour Shrimp Soup (Tom Yum Kung)
rec.food.cooking/Kristin Satterlee

This tastes quite a bit different from Chinese hot-and-sour (which I've never liked much); most notably, it is thin. The flavor is deliciously complex.

The recipe is in two parts. The first part is for the chili-tamarind paste that flavors the soup. Apparently this paste is also available premade at ethnic groceries, but I haven't tried it.

Chili-Tamarind Paste:
Makes about 1 cup (enough for 8 batches of soup)

1/2 cup dried shrimp (large ones, if available, but small worked fine)
1 3/4 cup vegetable or peanut oil
1/3 cup sliced garlic
1 cup sliced shallots
12 small dried Japanese chilies (red, about 2" long, sold in bags)
3 tablepoons Tamarind Sauce (recipe follows) or storebought tamarind concentrate
3 tablespoons coconut-palm or golden-brown sugar
1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce (Squid brand is the best I've found, or Tiparos)

Rinse dried shrimp in cold water to cover; drain.

Pour 1 1/2 cups oil into a wok; heat until the oil sizzles around the bowl of a wooden spoon.

Add the garlic; cook about 1 minute, until golden brown. Remove with a Chinese wire skimmer or slotted spoon. Remove to a bowl lined with paper towels.

Remove previous ingredient and allow oil to come back to heat before adding each new ingredient. Cook shallots 2-3 minutes or until they start to brown; shrimp for 1 minute; chilies 30 seconds or until they darken and become brittle.

Transfer the fried ingredients to a blender or food processor. Add tamarind concentrate and remaining 1/4 cup oil; blend until mixture forms a moist, nearly smooth paste.

Transfer paste to a small skillet; cook over medium heat 5-8 minutes or until it turns deep brown. Remove from heat and cool; store in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid in the refrigerator for up to three months.

Tamarind Sauce

1 ounce tamarind sauce (seedless, if possible)
1 cup warm water

Steep tamarind in water, breaking apart with fingers occasionally, for 30 minutes. Press through a strainer; discard any solids.

Okay...still with me? Now for the soup. Once the Chili-Tamarind Paste is made and the shrimp are peeled, it goes together real fast. I promise. Here goes!

Hot-and-Sour Shrimp Soup (Tom Yum Kung)

6 cups chicken stock (I used canned)
1 large stalk lemongrass, tough outer leaves peeled off, trimmed to 12 inches and angle-cut in 2 inch pieces
Peel of 1 lime, cut in thin slivers or chopped (or, if you're lucky enough to find them, 10 (5 pairs) fresh Kaffir lime leaves, torn in 1/2
2 tablespoons Chili-Tamarind Paste
4 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes' worth)
1/4 cup coconut-palm or golden brown sugar
3/4 pound medium shrimp, cleaned and peeled
1/2 pound sliced mushrooms
5 small Thai chilies (optional), stemmed and lightly crushed

Put the stock, lime peel or leaves, and lemongrass in a soup pot and slowly bring to a boil. Keep at a low boil for 1 minute. Stir in the chili-tamarind paste. Add the fish sauce and lime juice; stir in sugar until dissolved. Add mushrroms; cook for 3-4 minutes until soft. Add shrtimp; cook 1 more minute, or until pink. Turn off heat and float chilies on top of soup. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Serve hot. Do not eat lemongrass or lime leaves; eat the chilies if you're brave!

For a less expensive version, replace the shrimp with chicken (This is Tom Yum Kai).