Tom Yam Khung

In salivating again today over the memory of the delicious Thai cuisine I had during my cooking class, I thought it might be fun to share one of my favorite recipies. You'll have to go to an Asian market to pick up a number of these ingredients, but at least in the San Francisco area they're never more than a few miles away...


Tom Yam Khung (Sour and Spicy Prawn Soup pictured bottom left)

INGREDIENTS
300 grams prawns, shelled and deveined
200 grams mushrooms, halved
2 lemon grass stems cut into short lengths (best if cut diagonally to expose more flavor)
5 slices galangal sliced into thin rounds for flavor - do not eat(relative of giner, but not - got to the market)
4 kafir lime leaves, destemed and torn (not just lime leaves, you should find these frozen a the Asian market)
3-4 hot chillies broken with a pestle (the small hot chillies about 1 inch long)
4 tbsp. lime juice
3-4 tbsp. fish sauce
2 coriander stems (cilantro), chopped coarsely
4 cups water

PREPARATION
1. Heat the water to boiling. Add the lemon grass, shalots, galangal and kaffir lime leaves. Let boil for a minute or two.
2. Add prawns, mushrooms and fish sauce. Let boil until shrimp cooked (not long).
3. Season to taste with more lime, chillies and chopped cilantro. Remove from heat and serve hot.
4. Enjoy!