Thai Delicacy – Tom Yum Goong
Tom Yum Goong is definitely one of my favourite soups. It's very aromatic and it had gained popularity all over the world due to the fact that it's really easy to prepare. You just put everything in a pot and that's it!
Tom Yum Goong breakdown:
- tom= refers to the boiling process
- yum= means "mixed"; it can also refer to hot and sour combination
- goong= shrimp
So Tom Yum Goong is basically a hot and sour soup which came into existence in a region in Thailand where shrimp was very abundant (this is why it contains shrimp). It's ridiculously easy to prepare, very quick and the results are wow!
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 4 Leaves kaffir lime leaves
- 3 Pieces slices of galangal (or slices of ginger)
- 1 Piece stalk lemongrass
- 1 Piece bird-eye chilli
- 2 Pieces small shallots (cut into wedges)
- 100 grams mushroom (any mushroom is fine, usually they use button or enoki mushroom but that's not available everywhere)
- 8 Pieces cherry tomatoes (2 small tomatoes coarsely chopped if not using cherry)
- 1 tablespoon chilli paste (optional)
- 150 grams shrimp
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce for finishing the soup
- coriander for garnishing
- a good squeeze of lime
Start by adding the chicken stock to a pan together with the aromatics.
Bring to a boil and add the shallots, mushroom and tomato. Cook until it's aromatic and the tomato is very, very mushy. Add the chilli paste too, then add the shrimp and cook for 5 more minutes.
Add the fish sauce and cook for 1 more minute. Turn off the heat and add lime juice. Serve with coriander and extra lime juice and extra fish sauce.