Traditional Tom Yum Kung

Ingredients:

• 6 cups good-quality chicken stock
• 2-3 kaffir lime leaves (can be purchased at most Asian food stores), OR 1/2 tsp. lime zest
• 2 stalks minced lemongrass, OR 3 Tbsp. frozen/bottled prepared lemongrass (or substitute 3 slices lemon)
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. grated galangal OR ginger
• 1 fresh red chili, minced, OR 1-2 tsp. Thai chili sauce, OR 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. dried crushed chili OR cayenne pepper
• generous handful of fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce (if you dislike the smell of fish sauce, see below for substitution*)
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 12 medium to large shrimp, shells removed
• handful of fresh basil
• optional: other vegetables of your choice: 1 handful of broccoli, cherry tomatoes, or baby bok choy
• optional: 1/2 cup coconut milk OR Carnation evaporated milk (the latter is often used in Thailand for traditional tom yum kung)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh coriander/cilantro

Method:

1. Place stock in a large pot over high heat. Add the minced lemongrass (and leftover lemongrass stalks, if using fresh lemongrass), plus lime leaves. Bring to a boil.
2. When soup reaches a bubbling boil, reduce heat to medium, or until you get a nice simmer. Add the garlic, galangal/ginger, chili, mushrooms, lime juice, fish sauce and soy sauce. Stir well and simmer 3 minutes.
3. Add the shrimp plus other vegetables, if using. Simmer until shrimp are pink and plump (about 3 minutes).
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the coconut milk or Carnation milk (if using). Now taste-test the soup, looking for a balance of salty, sour, and spicy. If not salty or flavorful enough, add 1 Tbsp. more fish sauce OR soy sauce. If too sour, add more sugar. If too spicy (Tom Yum is meant to be spicy!), add a little coconut or Carnation milk. If too salty, add another squeeze of lime juice.
5. For those who like addtional spice/flavor, add a dollop of Thai Nam Prik Pao chili sauce, either store-bought or the homemade Thai Nam Prik Pao Chili Sauce Recipe . It can also be served on the side in small dishes, so each person can add as much as they prefer.
6. Ladle soup into bowls and top with a generous sprinkling of fresh coriander

 
For a thicker, slightly richer version of this soup, see my popular Tom Khaa (Tom Yum Soup with Coconut Milk).
 
*Instead of Fish Sauce: For those who dislike the smell of fish sauce: substitute 1/2 tsp. dark soy sauce + 1 Tbsp. regular soy sauce.

Oriental Chicken Soup

Today, on my birthday, my wife cooked me chicken soup. It was a good diet food if you intend not to take rice but this soup can serve both purpose; to be consumed on itself or with rice.

Ingredients

1. Half chicken
2. Olive oil for frying
3. Shallots
4. Garlics
5. Ginger
6. Black Pepper
7. Carrot
8. Potatoes
9. Spring Onions & Celery
10. Water
11. Salt for taste
12. Chicken Stock for taste (optional)

Pound shallots, garlic and ginger together. Mix with crushed black pepper. Heat olive oil in a pan. Then saute the mix to get the aroma and pour water in. Put in salt to taste and you may want to put chicken stock for a tastier soup.

Put in the chopped chicken into water and boil to cook. At boiling point, add in potatoes and carrot. You can sip the soup to taste for salt level over time and you may want to adjust either by adding water or adding salt. You may want to make it saltier if you're going to consume it with rice.

Once cooked, lift and serve with sliced spring onions and celery.

Chicken Soto

Ingredients for soup:-

1. Coriander seeds
2. Candlenuts
3. Garlic
4. Small Onions
5. Ginger
6. Galangal
7. Lemon Grass
8. Turmeric
9. Salt for taste
10. Chicken Stock
11. Chicken 

Do not forget the Glass Noodle or Rice Vermicelli

Ingredients to be mixed with glass noodles

1. Bean sprouts
2. Celery
3. Calamansi
4. Tomato 
5. Potato Meatball Click to see the recipe

Start with soaking the glass noodle or rice vermicelli in a warm water. It should be soaked long enough so that it would become soft and tender.


Ground coriander seeds, candlenuts, garlic, small onions, ginger and turmeric, and pan-fried in a pan containing hot oil. Add pounded galangal and lemongrass together with chicken and add water and salt to taste into pan. Boil to cook till the soup become thick and take out chicken and toast. Add chicken stock to suit your flavor.

Heat enough oil to deep fry the chicken in a pan. Fry chicken for a while till it become crispy and toast off the oil. Rip off the chicken flesh and store them in a separate storage. This ripped chicken flesh will be used later. The remaining bones of the chicken can be put back into the soup to add more taste to it.

Slice tomatoes and celery. Cut calamansi into half and clean up the bean sprouts. Serve glass noodle or rice vermicelli in a plate, together with sliced tomatoes, celery, bean sprouts and ripped chicken flesh. Squeeze 1 or 2 sides of calamansi cuts and pour in the prepared soup.

It's nice to add the potato meatball (the recipe link is provided at the above) for serving.

Potato Meatball (Bergedel)

Ingredients:

1. Potatoes
2. Minced meat
3. Small onions
4. Spring onions
5. Garlic
6. Black Pepper
7. Eggs
8. Cooking Oil for frying.
9. Salt for taste

Peel and clean the potatoes and cut them into medium sized cubes.  Put a pot filled with water and enough salt for taste to boil. Pour in the cubed potatoes to cook. Check with fork to test. Once cooked, lift pan and toast the potatoes to dry.

Mash garlic and onion in a pounding mortar (lesung batu). You may want to use blender but using mortar will provide a better squeezed juice of the garlic & onion. Once done, you may start to mash all the potatoes completely and mix the crushed black pepper in.

Mince the spring onions and mix it with all the mashed potatoes and pounded onions and garlic. Pour in the minced meat altogether and mix thoroughly as it forms a dough like material. Shape it to any look you like.

Heat oil in a pan. Beat eggs to become fluffy and dip in the shaped potato dough. Put to fry and serve.

Thai Style Steamed Fish

Ingredients

1. A fish preferably Barramundi or Snapper (Siakap or Jenahak/Ikan Merah)
2. galangal (lengkuas)
3. lemongrass (serai)
4. ginger (halia)
5. green indian onion 
6. garlic
7. A cup of water (250 ml)
8. tamarind (asam jawa) or bottled preserved asam boi
9. sugar and salt for taste
10. carrot
11. tomato
12. celery & spring onion.

Remove scales, weed and clean the fish. Remove the stomach and half slice the flesh to make it easier for the cooking scents to permeate the fish.

Finely slice galangal, ginger, lemongrass and garlic. Crush tamarind or preserved asam boi in water until thick. Add a little sugar and salt to taste. Make sure it is sour so it does not get diluted with the water seeped out of the fish.

Place fish on a plate dishes. Pour the water that had been dissolved with tamarind or asam boi on the plate together with the sliced galangal, lemongrass, ginger and garlic. Also add chopped tomatoes and carrots on the plate dishes along with the soup earlier.

Steam fish for 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of the fish). When the fish is cooked, sprinkle with sliced spring onions and celery to serve.