Tom Yum Soup

This recipe is based on the Tom Yum Soup that you get at the Thai restaurant at home in Timaru, Sukhothai.  It's perfect for dinner with a bowl of rice, especially when the weather's cooling down.  I'm not going to lie, but it has been said it's worth writing home about!

There isn't a hard and fast recipe for this, you can add or remove things as you please really but the way I usually make it goes a little something like this...

• 3 tablespoons of Tom Yum paste
• 1.5 cups of water
• 1 can of coconut milk
• cabbage (about a 1/6 or so), chopped into 2cm square chunks
• 1-2 carrots, sliced on an angle
• mushrooms (about 10), sliced
• prawns or chicken breast, diced
• sugar, about a tablespoon
• fish sauce, to taste
• Spring onions, finely sliced on an angle
• Coriander, chopped
• Bean sprouts

Heat the water and coconut milk.  When it comes to the boil, add the Tom Yum paste and mix until it's dissolved.  If I'm using chicken I'll add this and let it cook for a few minutes before I add the cabbage and carrots.  If I'm using prawns I'll add the cabbage and carrots first and let them cook for a couple of minutes first, then adding the prawns.  Soon after add the mushrooms and allow all to cook.  It doesn't take long. 

Once it's cooked, turn off the heat and sprinkle in the sugar and fish sauce to taste.  The sugar tends to take the chilli edge of it.  I sometimes add most of the bean sprouts to soften them a little.  Put the soup in  a bowl, top with spring onion, bean sprouts and coriander and serve with a bowl of rice.  Yum!

Tom Yum (without the garnishes!)