Tom Yam Gung ต้มยำกุ้ง Hot And Sour Prawn Soup

Day 13 of our carbless diet - I bought some beautiful prawns from the market for $10/kg (great bargains to be found on the weekends after 3pm just before the stall holders are closing for the day) and decided we might have a Thai soup for a change. Tom yam gung has to be the most well known Thai dish around and it is also one of the easiest dishes to prepare. As it is true with many simple dishes, tom yam also suffers the fate of being bastardised in so many ways. Lime juice is a must and lemon juice is a poor substitute; carrot, capsicum and zuchinni certainly have no place in a bowl of good tom yam. Use the freshest ingredients, keep it simple and you will be serving the tastiest tom yam every time. Some cooks add a little nam prik pao (roasted chili paste) at the end, I personally think that overtakes the beautiful subtle flavours of the aromatics.

serves 4 as part of a Thai meal 
you'll need;
1 kg of whole prawns
4 lemongrass, cut into 5 cm lengths, bruised
5 kaffir lime leaves, torn
5 to 10 bird chillies (depending on your preference), bruised
8 cups of water
1/2 tbs of salt
2 tbs of fish sauce
2 limes
a bunch of coriander leaves, chopped
extra fish sauce to taste

Peel and devein the prawns, reserving the heads and shells.

Simmer prawn heads and shells with salted water for 15 minutes. Strain and set aside until needed.

Bruise lemon grass and chillies in a mortar and pestle.

All the ingredients for a truly good tom yam soup. 

I also added some button and oyster mushrooms to the soup to make it a little more substantial. 

Bring prawn broth back to the boil and season with fish sauce. Add lemongrass, chillies and kaffir lime leaves and simmer for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms followed by prawns and cook until the prawns are just done.

Place some coriander leaves, some extra fish sauce and lime juice from half a lime in a bowl and ladle the soup over. Check for seasonings, it should taste hot, sour and aromatic.

Top with extra coriander leaves and serve. Add more fish sauce and lime juice to suit your taste.