Tom Yum Soup

I know it seems like we're on a Thai kick, but this was just coincidence!

Last night I made fresh Tom Yum soup for dinner. Most people don't know what to order at Thai restaurants, curry is not a diet friendly choice, but Tom Yum soup is light, broth-based and has fresh seafood. It's always my go-to staple because its filling (hot soup!), has lean protein and a great tangy-spicy flavor.

The other day in the supermarket, I found a Tom Yum 'kit' in the fresh herbs section, it was just a baggy with lemongrass, lime, green chilis, kaffir leaves and some unidentified object that I just chopped up and included in the soup! In the US, you might have to go to an Asian supermarket to find the ingredients, but it will be worth it.

It was delicious, light and healthy. The kitchen was so fragrant, we were all excited to try something new, and my husband, whom I do not consider a soup person, loved it!

Homemade Tom Yum Soup!

Tom Yum Goong

4 cups water
1 cup fresh raw shrimp (peeled and deveined)
5 fresh mushrooms
1 sliced tomato
1-2 limes
1 lemon grass
3 kaffir lime leaves
2T fish sauce
5 sprigs cilantro (coriander), chopped
3 red or green thai chilis

• Start boiling the water in a 2 quart pot. Use the back of your cleaver to smash the lemon grass, just to bruise it to release the flavor. Tie the lemon grass into a knot (to make it easier to manage so you don't have to sift around it while eating). Drop the lemon grass in water and let boil for 5 minutes.
• Put the fish sauce and 1 lime's juice into the bottom of the bowls you will serve the soup in. Crush chili pepper and add to the bowl (careful, these chilis are extremely hot, you might want to start with just the littlest amount and work up, also wear gloves).
  
• Remove the stems from the kaffir lime leaves and add the leafy part to the pot. Clean and halve the mushrooms and add them to the pot.
  
• Add tomato slices, wait 1 minute.
• Add the shrimp and turn off the heat. (Shrimp gets too tough very quickly, and will cook even when it is just sitting in the warm broth. I was using very large tiger shrimp, so I let boil for 30 seconds and then turned heat off.)
  
• Scoop the soup into the serving bowls, you will see that the broth becomes cloudy because of the lime juice. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.
• Add more fish sauce, lime juice or peppers if it tastes bland.