Bowl of Sour Seafood Soup
(click to enlarge)

Hot & Sour Seafood Soup


Thailand
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 5 cups
**
55 min
Yes		 A flavorful seafood soup which you can vary to use whatever seafood you have. It can be a soup course for 4 or a main dish soup for 2, straight, or with rice.

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c
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Black Mushroom (1)
Lemon Grass stalk (2)  
Kaffir Lime leaf (3)
Thai Chili
Scallions
(Options)
Fish, firm light
Fish Balls, or (4)
Stock (5)
Water
Fish Sauce (6)
Soy Sauce
Lime Juice
--Garnish
Cilantro leaves
-- Options
Shrimp
Clam Meats
Sea Cucumber
Mussels
Octopus
Squid
Cuttlefish
Prep   -   (25 min)
  1. Soak BLACK MUSHROOMS in warm water 1/2 hour. Drain, wring out stem and slice 1/8 inch wide.
  2. Select a LEMON GRASS stalk, peel off the tough outer leaves, cut off the hard root section and the tips leaving about 8 inches. Crush it a bit with your kitchen mallet and cut into 3 lengths.
  3. Give the LIME LEAVES a few whacks with the pointy side of the kitchen mallet to bruise them.
  4. Cap CHILIS and split them half way down. Cut SCALLIONS into 1 inch lengths and mix with Chilis.
  5. Cut OPTIONS as appropriate, into about 1/2 inch pieces if large. Cut FISH into 1/2 inch pieces. Slice FISH BALLS in half, then each half into three pieces, or IF using TOFU cut into 1/2 inch dice. Mix all together.
  6. Squeeze LIME JUICE.
  7. Pick CILANTRO leaves off the stems. If desired, chop coarse.
Run   -   (30 min)
  1. Heat STOCK and WATER to a simmer, Add Lemon Grass, Lime Leaves and Mushrooms. Simmer 10 minutes.
  2. Add FISH SAUCE and SOY SAUCE and Simmer another 5 minutes.
  3. At this point you can remove the lemon grass and lime leaves with a slotted spoon.
  4. When ready to serve, Stir in Chili mix and Options. Bring to a boil and simmer for only 2 minutes, or some options may toughen. Finally turn off the heat and stir in the Lime Juice.
  5. Serve garnished with Cilantro leaves, and see Serving.
NOTES:

  1. Mushrooms:

      Fresh Shiitake mushrooms work fine too, but, do soak them in hot water for 20 minutes and wring them out - This changes their texture from dry to creamy. Other Mushrooms could also be used.

  2. Lemongrass:

      These tough grass stems are now widely available in North American markets that serve a Southeast Asian community. I've even seen them in some Korean markets. For details see our Lemongrass page.

  3. Kaffir Lime Leaves:

      These come 2 leaves to a stem, so this recipe needs 2 stems (unless one of the leaves on your stems is very small). For details See our Kaffir Lime page. If you don't have them, grate the zest of the limes before you squeeze them for lime juice.

  4. Fish Balls:

      Half inch cubes of Firm Tofu, could also be used, and was called for in the pattern recipe. I use Fish Balls because I'm more likely to have some in the freeze than Firm Tofu in the fridge.

  5. Stock:

      Fish stock would come first to mind, but in Southeast Asia Chicken or Pork stock could also be used, as matching stock to ingredients isn't a rule there. These days, in Thailand, these days, Chicken Powder or Bouillon Cubes might be used.

  6. Fish Sauce:

      This clear liquid is as essential to Southeast Asian cuisines as it was to Imperial Rome. If you are unfamiliar with it, see our Fish Sauce Introduction page.

  7. Serving:

      You can also have a bowl of steamed Jasmine Rice on the table, to be spooned into the soup as desired.
  8. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch tt=to taste ar=as required
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