“Tom” is the Thai word for “soup,” and “gai” is the word for Chicken. “Yum,” as any idiot could reckon, means “Holy Christ! That’s tasty!” This is Thailand’s version of the Chinese “Hot and Sour Soup,” but while the Chinese use vinegar to provide the sour bit, the Thai use citrus, among other differences. I’ve heard, though it sounds like an odious, mean-spirited rumor to me, that some people might not favor these soups. Anyone professing such an attitude must be shunned, for they are indeed dangerous cretins. Tom Yum, whether served with shrimp (“Kung”) or chicken, is what I consider to be an “indicator dish,” meaning that if you get a dud soup at a restaurant, chances are good that they either don’t know what they are doing or have little respect for the palette of their customers. If you get domestic mushrooms instead of straw mushrooms, the proprietor is cutting corners and deserves to be publicly flogged, or worse.
| 1 chicken breast, cubed or 1/2 lb shrimp 3 cups chicken stock 3 stalks lemon grass (cut into 2" pieces) 1/4 cup cilantro 2 tsp Thai fish sauce (Nam Pla) 3 Kaffir lime leaves 2 Thai or serrano chiles 5 oz straw mushrooms 1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice 1" galangal or ginger, sliced fresh basil leaves to garnish |
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| 1 1/2 cups ham* 2 cups dried green split peas 7 cups water 1 clove garlic, minced 1 each: carrot, onion, garlic clove, diced 1 1/2 tsp thyme 1 bay leaf 1/2 tsp marjoram, tarragon, rosemary salt and pepper |
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| 2 leek, split lengthwise, washed and chopped 2 tsp olive oil 2 1/2 cups chicken broth 1 lb Yukon gold potatoes 1 tsp thyme 2 tablespoons minced parsley Salt and pepper to taste |
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This ubiquitous Chinese menu item is one of the easiest restaurant dishes to prepare at home. Soup is often a good indicator of how good a restaurant is- if they use lots of authentic ingredients, they know what they are doing but if they use only domestic mushrooms, for example, chances are they are cutting corners. Unlike Thai hot and sour soup, which contains chicken or shrimp and relies upon lime juice for tartness, the Chinese version uses vinegar and always contains pork. You can substitute many of these ingredients, so if you can't find wood ear mushrooms (they're a lot easier to find than you would think) try some canned straw mushrooms or just use white. The vinegar is a key ingredient, but you can use cider or rice vinegar. A good restaurant will add lotus shoots, but they are harder to find. Also, tofu is a common ingredient, but I would only add it in lieu of the pork, or you could use smaller amounts of each.
| 4-6 oz pork (tenderloin or shoulder) 2 cans low sodium chicken broth or 4 cups home made 1/4 cup Chinese black vinegar 1/2 cup white mushroms, quartered 5 dried shitake mushrooms 1/4 cup wood ear mushrooms 1/4 cup bamboo shoots 2 cloves garlic 3 green onions 1/2-inch slice fresh ginger 1 Tb soy sauce 3 Tb cornstarch, in a slurry of water 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 large egg 1/2 tsp sesame oil 1-2 tsp crushed red pepper or to taste. |
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