Tom Yam Goong

Talking about soup - this is surely on the top of my lists. I like the hot and sour taste and the freshness coming from the kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass. It's refreshing (and maybe good for your sinus, hehe)! And It's Tom Yam Goong! I'm still curious though, what is the meaning of "Goong" in Thai. Anyone knows?

From Kitchen Runaway

So, here are the ingredients, you can use prawn/ squid/ chicken/ or even mushrooms only for pure vegetarian style.  

• 5-6 large prawns, shelled and deveined
• 1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 2 inches in length
• Few straw mushrooms
• Few slices of galangal
• 3 kaffir lime leaves
• 5 sprigs cilantro/ coriander leaves
• 2-3 red chilies/ chili peppers
• 1-2 tsp fish sauce (optional)
• 1-2 limes
• 1 ½ cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp shrimp paste (optional)
• 1 tbsp finely sliced lemongrass

Start boiling the water and stock. Peel and de-vein the prawn and set them aside. Cut lemon grass into pieces, 5-6 inches long. Use the back of your knife to pound the lemon grass, just to bruise it to release the flavor. If you want, you can tie the lemon grass into a knot to make it easier to manage. 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.

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 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. Scoop the shrimp and liquid into the serving bowls immediately. As soon as you add the liquid to the serving bowl, you will see that the broth becomes cloudy because of the lime juice. Add the nam prig pow. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Be very careful, the peppers can be hot. Take a small sip at a time. Add more fish sauce and/or lime juice if it tastes bland.