Tom Yum Koong

As the weather starts to cool down it may make people get colds, have nasal obstructions, or coughs with nasal mucus.  You need to make the body warm: sip warm water or water at room temperature.  Reducing high fat foods will help you keep away from getting a cold or help make a fast recovery if you have one.  But when you get cold, the thing you should always do is to eat hot soup in the morning, especially soup made from heated herbs (Yang), which helps to prevent colds and relieve cold symptoms.  Many spicy soups do that, and help you to breathe easier and gain energy.  The author would like to share a recipe for Tom Yum Goong (Sour prawn soup) that is simple to cook in easy steps, and suitable for when a cold begins.

Ingredients:

Banana shrimp (peeled and deveined) 8   shrimps

Lemongrass (smashed and sliced 1” long) 2   pieces  

Kaffir lime leaves (torn in half) 3-4   leaves

Galangal root (smashed and sliced) 3-4   sliced

Bird’s eye chili (smashed) 8-10   chili

Young coconut meat (minced) 100   grams

Roasted chili paste (nam prik pao) 1   tablespoon

Fresh milk 100   grams

Chicken stock 500   grams

Lime juice 3   tablespoon

Fish sauce 1   tablespoon

Instructions:

•  Put chicken stock in a pot to boil.  Put lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal into chicken soup.  Wait until the soup boils.
• Add young coconut meat until cooked, then add banana shrimps and fish sauce.  Taste a bit salty.
• Mix roasted chili paste, fresh milk, lime juice and bird’s eye chili together.  Then add to the soup and stir until it boils.  Turn off the heat and remove the pot from the stove.  Put the Tom Yum Goong into a bowl and serve.

(Note : This recipe is suitable for other major ingredients.  For shrimp, you can substitute chicken or other seafoods, or any other you like.)