This style of soup has been a restaurant favourite of mine for years. There are so many variations on it, though they all have herbal complexity, sour citrus, chilli heat and salty umami. It’s basically a clear version of “tom yam” soup. When I roughed out the idea for this recipe and tested it, my mind was blown. For my tastes, this is the best thing I’ve cooked in quite some time.
The best place to find ingredients like the lemon grass, lime leaves and galangal is an Asian market. Do not even think about slicing the galangal with a knife that is anything less than razor sharp. It’s quite woody and the chance of a dull knife slipping on it’s skin and cutting you is high.
Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
8 cups water
2 stalks lemon grass – outer layer discarded – diagonally sliced to 1″
2 inch piece galangal – thinly sliced
12 kafir lime leaves (dried)
5 red chilies – stems removed
6 cloves garlic – thinly sliced
2 roma tomatoes – cut in eight wedges
1/2 white onion – cut into eight wedges
1 lb chicken thighs – cut into strips
1 cup cilantro including stems – roughly chopped
1/3 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
Preparation:
Place water, lemon grass, galangal, lime leaves, chilies and garlic in a suitable pot and place on high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for fifteen minutes.
Add the tomatoes, onion and chicken, returning to a boil then, reducing to simmer for five minutes.
Remove from heat then, stir in the cilantro, fish sauce and lime juice. Serve immediately.