Originally posted July 30, 2011

Tom Yum Soup

I got this recipe from a San Francisco Restaurants Cookbook, which sounds unbelievably vague, but that's what it was -- a collection of recipes culled from various Bay Area restaurants. A cursory online search has turned up no such cookbook, and the recipe has been in my head for so long I'm pretty sure it's different. At least, a little bit. This is the way I like it, especially to cure a hangover or nurse a cold.

Ingredients

  • -2 stalks lemongrass, crushed with a heavy pan
  • -2-4 Kaffir Lime Leaves
  • -1 carton sliced white mushrooms
  • -2 cartons low sodium chicken stock
  • -Just shy of 1 lb chicken breasts, uncooked, sliced very thin across the breast
  • -1 tblsp fish sauce
  • -lots of fresh lime juice (to taste -- i like it really sour)
  • -1 tblsp Thai chili paste (i've substituted chile oil and even rooster sauce but it's best with the dark red Thai paste)
  • -1 bunch chopped green onions
  • -2-3 sliced red and green jalapenos (or more, depending on how much heat you want)
  • -chopped cilantro
  • -lime wedges to pass

Directions

Heat the chicken stock over medium heat. Toss in the stalks of lemongrass (you'll pull them out during cooking, you want them smashed enough to release the perfume) and the lime leaves. Let cook for a minute. Toss in the mushrooms. Toss in the chicken and let everything cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through; shouldn't take very long. Remove the stalks of lemongrass, add the fish sauce, lime juice, chili paste, green onions, peppers, cilantro. Stir and serve immediately. Lime wedges are nice to pass if people want more zing.

20 minutes

Comments

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  • commented over 12 years ago

    Hey Joanie -- any Asian market should have Kaffir Lime Leaves, usually frozen. The market on Church street across from Safeway (at Market), if it's still there, usually had them in the freezer section in small plastic baggies. Whole Foods carries it now, I believe. I have made it without them, but it's not the same.

  • commented over 12 years ago

    Where do you get the lime leaves? Are they special, or can I use leaves off my lime tree? I suppose that's an ignorant questions...

Adapted from

A cookbook about San Francisco restaurants, and a Thai Restaurant, neither of which I remember

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