A new year has begun. Last year seemed to pass in the darkness. I cooked. I learned new ways of making food. I ate many delicious meals but I remained out of sight. It feels like the right time to re enter the world and share my on-going journey with food - my healer, guide and saviour.
This morning I decided to change my routine. I normally wake up and drink a large 500ml glass of water with 1/2 lemon or lime juice and raw honey. Thirty minutes later I drink a fresh celery juice. And thirty minutes after that I have a fruit smoothie with 2 teaspoons of spirulina, barley grass juice powder, wild blueberry powder and 1 teaspoon of dulse flakes and micro C powder all mixed with pure coconut water. That is breakfast spread throughout the morning.
Sometimes I need a change. Today, I woke up late to rain and cooler temperatures; it is summer here. After my lemon water, I decided to skip my celery juice and fruit smoothie and have an early lunch. I made Tom Yum Noodle Soup. I confess I had made the Tom Yum soup broth already and had it stored in a glass container in the refrigerator. But it is not hard to make if you have the ingredients on hand.
Tom Yum, a Thai soup, is spicy, sour and savoury. Wonderful in summer or winter. You can enjoy it with or without noodles and/or prawns (shrimp). If you are not a fan of chillies, leave them out or put in just a small amount. Adjust everything to YOUR taste preferences. What I love about my Tom Yum Soup is it has no fats (unless you add prawns) and it has loads of umami without using the traditional fish sauce or oils. The soup base is vegan and packed with flavour.
While some of the ingredients may seem foreign, they are not difficult to find. In fact may grocery stores are beginning to sell fresh lemongrass, galangal root and chillies. Makrut lime leaves can be found in a Thai shop or most Asian food stores. If you have a Thai restaurant in your area, you will also have an Asian food store somewhere near by. You may also find these ingredients in fresh produce markets. On-line you can purchase dried makrut (kaffir) lime leaves, dried galangal and lemongrass. If you love Tom Yum soup at your local Thai restaurant, making it yourself means you can tailor it to your tastes and enjoy a clean, fresh and nutritious soup you can enjoy knowing it is full of nutrition and contains no hidden MSG or unknown ingredients.
Instead of using traditional fish sauce, I used my No fish sauce. Check out my blog tomorrow for a recipe. If you love fish sauce, use Redcoat or Son for the best flavour in a pure, aged fish sauce consisting of anchovies and salt. I also made homemade soup stock (with no salt or added fats) for extra flavour and nutrition. For the broth, I cooked an assortment of vegetables I had an hand (such as celery, carrots, onions, garlic, stems from basil, parsley, dill etc, stalks from silverbeet, chard, kale, scrubbed skin from butternut squash and pumpkin, ginger, fresh turmeric, greens from radishes, carrots, beets etc.) in a large pot of filtered water (about 12 cups). I brought it to a boil and simmered gently for 1 hour with a couple tablespoons of crushed peppercorns and several strips of kelp seaweed. I let it cool to room temperature and strained it.
Tom Yum Noodle Soup
Ingredients
5 cups homemade vegetable stock (filtered water or a combination of both)
2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed, outer layer removed and pounded
1 inch chunk of fresh or dried galangal root, sliced
8 makrut lime leaves (fresh or dried), torn or 1 tsp dried makrut lime granules
6-10 (2-3 for less spicy) Thai red chilis, washed, stems removed
6 cloves garlic, peeled
300 grams fresh oyster or button mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 white or brown onion, peeled and chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
pure maple syrup, maple sugar or organic coconut sugar
No fish sauce (Redcoat or Son Fish Sauce)
1/2 tsp sea salt
fresh lime juice
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
steamed vegetables (optional)
3-4 wild caught peeled and deveined frozen or fresh prawns per serve (optional)
50-80 grams organic potato thread bean noodles, mung bean noodles or brown rice vermicelli per serve (optional)
Method
Squeeze about 2-4 limes and set aside in a small glass jar with lid for later. Put the vegetable stock in a large soup pot, cover and bring to a boil.
As the stock heats to a boil, take your lemongrass and remove the outer layer and trim the base and upper end. Then using a pestle or the flat surface of a large knife, lightly pound the lemongrass to release the flavour. Cut into 2-3 inch pieces. Peel the garlic and pound with the side of a knife to release the flavour. Ten chilis will make a very spicy soup so adjust to your level of spice. Cut the stems off the chilis and slice thickly. You can remove the seeds and inner core if you want to reduce the heat. Put the garlic and chillies in to a mort and pestle and pound with a pinch of salt until you have a paste. Cut the galangal into thin slices. Tear the makrut lime leaves from the central stem. Add the lemongrass, galangal, garlic/chilis paste and makrut lime leaves to the soup. Cover and bring the soup to a boil.
When the soup reaches a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes covered. Add the sliced mushrooms, chopped tomatoes and onion. Bring to a boil again and simmer until the onions are just cooked through, about 10-12 minutes.
At this stage, you can remove the soup, let if fully cool and store in airtight containers in the refrigerator or freezer for later use. When you defrost and reheat, add fish sauce, maple sugar or coconut sugar and fresh lime juice to taste as well as steamed vegetables or sautéed prawns. This ensures freshness.
When eating right away, steam your vegetables so they are on the crunchy side as they will cook slightly in the hot soup.
To prepare the prawns, heat a skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side and place 3-4 prawns with steamed vegetables in each bowl.
Soak noodles in boiling hot water for about 5 minutes or follow packet instructions.
To the soup, add a few tablespoons of No fish sauce, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 tbs of maple syrup or coconut sugar. You will need more but start with this amount. Boil for about a minute or two. When the onions are soft the soup is ready. Turn off. the heat Add the lime juice. Taste the soup. Add more fish sauce, lime juice and maple sugar/coconut sugar according to your preference. Make it as sour, sweet and salty as you like. I love it spicy and sour with a background of sweetness. Add and taste until you have arrived at a the perfect balance for you.
Place noodles, prawns and vegetables in bowls. Ladle soup over and serve with fresh cilantro. Alternately, serve soup alone with fresh cilantro.
Store excess soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.