Tom yum

This popular hot and sour soup is just the thing when you're feeling a bit under the weather. There's nothing like a blast of chillies and lime juice to clear the cobwebs out. You'll find variations of Tom Yum (or Tom Yam) soup all over Thailand and Burma, and it's spread to Malaysia as well. This version with mixed seafood is called Tom Yum Thelah or Thaleh. If you don't like seafood, use fish or chicken instead, or leave it out entirely and make a veggie version of the soup.

Recipe

1 tsp oil
1 small onion, diced
1 tsp lemongrass, minced
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp galangal, minced
2-3 tsp minced chillies, or sambal olek
1 tsp shrimp paste
1 tsp ground corinader
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
3-4 kaffir lime leaves
1-2 tsp fish sauce
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup white, oyster or straw mushrooms, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced, or 1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved if large)
1 cup fresh or frozen seafood of your choice (prawns, scallops, squid rings, diced firm fillets, crab sticks, fish balls, etc.)
Lime juice

Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan, and add the onion. Cook 3-4 minutes, then add the lemongrass, garlic, galangal, chillies to taste, and shrimp paste. Cook 2-3 minutes, then add the ground spices, lime leaves, fish sauce to taste, and the stock, and bring to a simmer. Add the mushrooms and cook 10 minutes. Then add the tomatoes and seafood, and cook a minute or two more, until the seafood is ready.

Serve with rice and add lime juice to taste.

If using cherry tomatoes, be careful when you eat - those babies can house incredibly hot centres!

Serves: 2
Preparation and cooking time: 20 minutes