Tom Yum Goong "Lemon grass Shrimp Soup"

Tom Yum Goong "Lemon grass Shrimp Soup"

by Sonny Ithipathachai on Friday, September 24, 2010 at 4:44pm

 Lemon Grass Shrimp Soup:

This is absolutely my all time favorite dishes in Thailand.  Everywhere I go in Thailand, I will order this soup.  Each place makes it a little different, but it’s basically the same.  The smell that comes from the soup will overload the senses.  Done right, it should be tangy, hot, sour, and addictive.  The ingredient to make this soup are much harder to come by, so you will have to look around a bit to get all the ingredients.  By far, when people find out I cook Thai food..this is the # 1 request for soups.

Healthy Food Article
Can a soup fight cancer? If it's a Thai favorite called Tom Yung Gung, the answer just might be yes.
Made with shrimp, coriander, lemongrass, ginger, and other herbs and spices used in Thai cooking, the soup was found to possess properties 100 times more effective than other antioxidants in inhibiting cancerous-tumor growth.
Researchers at Thailand's Kasetsart University and Japan's Kyoto and Kinki Universities became interested in the soup's immune-boosting qualities after noticing that the incidence of digestive tract and other cancers was lower in Thailand than in other countries.
Many common Thai spices have feel-great benefits, our judges point out. Ginger aids in digestion, turmeric is an anti-inflammatory, and lemongrass has long been used in Asian medicine to help treat colds and ease tummy troubles.


Meat:  Fresh (heads-on, or heads off) shrimp.  I prefer heads on because it makes the soup flavor more intense.  Restaurants serve it with heads off, as not to offend the customer.  Most Westerners prefer their food not stare at them at the dinner table.

(Optional) Sometimes we go in the grocery store and see this mix bag thing.  It's got squid, octopus tentacles, shrimp, scallops, etc. in it.  Buy it!  Throw it in the soup and eat it!  It's good!  Tilapia is a great fish for soups as well.

Soup Stock:  The easiest way to do this is buy two cans of chicken broth.  The harder and tastier way is to make your own chicken broth, or seafood broth from fish heads.  O.K. that sounds gross, but wow the flavor is awesome!  I'm giving you options people.

Spices:  Lemon Grass, look for freshness, no discoloration.  Smell it!  It should smell good.  You will not use the outer layers, and don't eat it!  It's just used for flavoring.  Cut the lemon grass into 2" long pieces and down the middle.  Kalanga, again this stuff is expensive and hard to find.  Kalanga looks like ginger root but is much bigger and rounder.  You can use about 4 slices per soup, and again you don't eat it.  Kiffir Lime Leaf is very hard to find.  This is like two leaves on one stem.  It's funny looking and doesn't look like anything here in the West.  Take it and rip it apart into small pieces to intensify the flavor, again we don't eat this stuff...it just makes the soup smell great.  Jalapeño or Thai peppers to taste.  Some like it four stars, some like it one star.  Dried chili pepper puts some kick in it too.  Must have Tom Yum Shrimp Paste.

Fish Sauce, sugar, and this is a must (FRESH lime juice).  I use about 4 whole limes or lemons for each soup, sometimes more.  A trick is to put the lemon/lime in the microwave for about 1 minute.  Take it out and roll the palm of your hand on the lime pressed against a cutting board, when you slice it, the juices will come off easier.  Knorr vegetable soup mix....just a pinch.

Veggies:  Fresh diced tomatoes, and fresh sliced mushrooms, thinly sliced onions.

Doin the Deed:  I bring the two 12 oz. cans of broth to a boil and throw in two heaping tablespoons of Tom Yum Shrimp Paste in.  Mix it well.  Put in two table spoons of fish sauce, 4 lime juice, 1 to 2 table spoon sugar, 1/4 salt, pepper, and all the leaves, lemon grass, and galanga.  Boil for about 1 to 2 minutes to get the ingredients mixed.

Next, turn off the heat or turn it down as low as possible for adding the seafood.  There is nothing I hate more than over cooked seafood.  It doesn't take long for seafood to cook.  Mix in the tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, Knorr mix, and onion slices now.  Keep mixing and watching...once the shrimp turns pink...take it off the heat.  Throw some sliced green onions and cilantro for looks, and you're done.  The soup doesn't have to boil to be done.  Taste and check for balance.

I eat this from a bowl and throw in some Jasmine rice for good measure.  It should be tangy, sweet, sour, salty, and all around good...Flavors are more intense the next day...if you can keep from eating it all the 1st day.