Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Tom Yum Soup with Noodles
I'm not so sure this new budgeting thing really works for me. It used to be fine when either Lofty or I were able to shop for food during our lunch breaks or on our way home, but now that we both work longer, we can no longer get the bits and pieces that are missing for any specific dinner. As a result, tonight we only had greens left, but no other vegetables that would really be good for a salad. And as all shops were shut when I realised this, we had to make due with what I found. "Pasta or risotto?" I hear you ask. No, tonight I was being adventurous and made my version of a Thai Tom Yum soup, enhanced with noodles, what vegetables I had and the leftover pork.1 heaping tbsp tom yum paste (more if you like ithot, less if you aren't keen on spicy food; only follow the instructions on the jar if you think that Vindaloo is a mild curry! Mine requested 3 tbsp to 1 litre of water and no coconut milk to mellow it out.)
1 litre boiling water
1 small can (165ml) coconut milk
a handful of long, thin noodles (I used spaghetti, but you could be more authentic and go for Asian noodles)
1 tbsp palm sugar
1 stock cube
a good dash of soy sauce
a good dash of fish sauce
1 stick of lemon grass, roughly chopped (alternatively a little powdered lemon grass)
1 tsp Thai basil leaves, roughly chopped
¼ lemon, cut into wedges
salt and pepper to taste
all the vegetables you like (I used a mixture of sliced carrots, sliced onion and runner beans)
cooked prawns, fish or meat (or, of course, a mixture of all of them)
Place a large saucepan on the hob over medium heat. When the pan is starting to get hot, add the tom yum paste and fry until sizzling and fragrant. Slowly pour in the water, stirring to mix. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for a few minutes before adding the noodles and lemon grass. If you are using very thin noodles or rice noodles, which take very little time to cook, add them with the vegetables. Cook until the noodles are about 5 minutes away from being tender.
Now pour in the coconut milk, crumble in the stock cube and add the palm sugar, soy sauce and fish sauce. Return to the boil and add the vegetables (and any raw meat you might be using). Also squeeze in some of the juice from the lemon wedges and then throw the whole wedges into the pan. Boil until the vegetables are tender, then add the cooked fish or meat. Allow to heat through, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Finally, stir in the Thai basil and serve hot in large bowls.
Christine at 8:20 pm
