My Tom Yum or Mach 2 With Your Hair On Fire!!!

My Tom Yum or Mach 2 With Your Hair On Fire!!!

My husband and I recently tried a place called Thai Aree not far from where we live in the Portage Park neighborhood of Chicago. I had read a review on Centerstage and was excited about giving it a try. Some good Tom Yum soup, which is a Thai hot-and-sour soup, was what I wanted and when I read this:

Be forewarned: if you ask for hot, hot is what you'll get. The kitchen at Thai Aree has no compunction about clearing your sinuses with a swift kick of capsicum. And if you ask for Thai-style heat, expect to clutch the table, sweat profusely, and beg for more."

Well, I couldn't get there fast enough (Truly spicy seems to be a difficult concept here in the Midwest. Even when I beg in a very persuasive manner I still get very little heat)! I was still skeptical until this steaming pale orange pot of soup was brought out to our table. The above review of "Thai-style heat" was absolutely accurate. Holy crap was it hot! We loved it but even for us this heat level was ridiculous, delicious but ridiculous!

So, all of that having been said, I decided to try an re-create this incendiary brew at home. I'm not a fan of exercising (as my not so girlish figure would reveal) so I prefer to get my endorphin rush, as often as possible,from hot, spicy, chili-infused food. I still sweat and gain a clarity of mind from the endorphin rush but don't run a risk of straining anything :).

Anyway, this recipe came from reading 100 different recipes (okay maybe it was only 50) and then getting as close as I could. If I can get my hands on the specific chilies they used and some kaffir lime leaves this recipe would be dead on. I got very very close using lime zest and juice and some tsien tsien peppers. If your getting a cold or already have one this will clean you out from stem to stern and get you standing upright again and there's no more exercise involved than lifting your spoon and wiping the sweat from your brow...my kind of workout!!!

Recipe: Tom Yum Yum Yummy Soup

Traditionally, this recipe would have 3/4 lb. of shrimp but I kept it vegetarian. I have also seen recipes that add a can of coconut milk which I'm sure would be delicious but I chose not to use it because the restaurant version that I was trying to replicate didn't use it. If you can't find Nam Prik Poa (Thai roasted chili paste) you can make your own (recipe follows) or you could even use red curry paste although not traditional it'll give you both heat and flavor.






Ingredients:




For the Broth
6 cups stock (I used vegetable stock with shrimp shells thrown in)
2 stalks lemongrass
2 slices galangal root (optional)
3 slices ginger root
2 limes, zest and juice (If you have kaffir lime leaves omit zest and use 2 of those)
1T. tamarind paste
1T. fish sauce

For the Soup
1 cup fresh snow peas
1/2 cup shitake mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup carrot, shredded
1/4 cup bean sprouts
1/2 a small red onion, sliced thin
3 roma tomatoes, seeded and sliced
2T. nam prik poa or to taste, recipe follows
fresh or dried chilies to your liking
small handful of cilantro, chopped


Directions:
In a soup pot, add all broth ingredients. Simmer 20 minutes and strain. Put broth back into pot and add the soup ingredients. Bring back to a boil and simmer 5 minutes. Serve with additional nam prik poa. Enjoy!

Recipe: Nam Prik Poa
Adapted from About (dot) com
This paste stinks to the high heavens but it tastes wonderful.
Makes 1/2 Cup

Ingredients:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
3T. ground dried chilies or red pepper flakes
1t. shrimp paste
2T. fish sauce
2T. palm or brown sugar
1t. tamarind paste
2T. water

Directions:
In a small frying pan, heat oil over med-high heat. fry to a light golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and put into a food processor, reserving any remaining oil in the pan. Add remainder of ingredients to processor and whiz it up to form a smooth paste. Reheat oil over low heat and add the paste. Stir until the oil is mixed in and the paste has an even consistency. If it's too thick, add a little water.
This keeps forever in a sealed jar so you can make this in quantity and add to stir-fries or Thai curries too. Enjoy!