Bowl of Hot Sour Shrimp Soup
(click to enlarge)

Hot & Sour Shrimp Soup


Cali-Thai
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 6-1/2 cups
***
1-1/4 hr
Part		 An outstanding shrimp soup which you can embellish with whatever other seafood you have - see Comments.

14
1/2
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1
3
4
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4
2
2
3
2
3
1/3
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5
oz
oz
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c
c
T
T
c
---
oz
Shrimp (1)
Black Fungus (2)
-- Flavorings
Lemongrass stalk (3)  
Makrut Leaves (4)
Galangal slices (5)
--------
Thai Chili (6)
Scallions
Broth (7)
Water
Fish Sauce (8)
Lime Juice
Cilantro leaves
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Options (9)
Do-Ahead    
  1. If using Baby Octopus (or any Octopus), simmer in salted water until just tender (probably more than 1 hour). Drain and set aside.
  2. Shell and de-vein SHRIMP. You can refreeze them if not used immediately. Simmer Shrimp Shells in water to cover for about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving the water which can be part of the Broth.
Prep   -   (30 min)
  1. Soak BLACK FUNGUS in warm water 1/2 hour. Drain, wring out and cut or tear into about 1 inch pieces.
  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. Crush the MAKRUT LEAVES in you hand to bruise them. Add to Lemon Grass.
  4. Slice GALANGAL ROOT 1/4 inch thick. Strike with your kitchen hammer to crush somewhat. Add to Lemon Grass
  5. Cap CHILIS and split them half way down. Cut SCALLIONS into 1 inch lengths and mix with Chilis.
  6. Squeeze LIME JUICE.
  7. Chop CILANTRO medium. You can include tender stems. Measure is after chopping, moderately packed.
  8. Prepare selected OPTIONS as described. Mix all together, including cooked Baby Octopus if using - but NOT Fish and/or Fish Balls. These are held separate because they go in before the other Options.
Run   -   (35 min)
  1. Heat Broth and Water to a simmer. Add Flavorings mix and simmer 15 minutes.
  2. At this point you can remove the Flavoring mix with a slotted spoon.
  3. Add Fish Sauce and Black Fungus. Simmer another 5 minutes. Hold soup here until ready to serve.
  4. When ready to serve, stir in Chili mix and bring to a boil. Taste the soup and if it's getting too hot for you, pull out the chilis.
  5. IF using Fish and/or Fish Balls, stir them in now and bring back to a boil over high heat. After 1 minute, go to the next step.
  6. Stir in Shrimp and Options. Bring back to a boil over high heat. When it just reaches a boil it is done. Take off heat and stir in Lime Juice and Cilantro.
  7. Serve hot. You can place a bowl of Steamed Rice on the table to be stirred into the soup as desired. For buffet, finish as close to serving time as practical and pour into a slow cooker set to "keep warm".
NOTES:

  1. Shrimp:

      Preferably buy shell-on so you can make some shrimp shell broth. Do not buy pre-cooked shrimp, they always lack flavor. If your shrimp are quite large, you can cut them in half crosswise.

  2. Black Fungus:

      This is easily available from Asian markets. For details see our Black Fungus page.

  3. 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.

  4. Makrut Leaves:

      [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 Makrut Lime page. If you don't have them, grate the zest of the limes before you squeeze them for lime juice.

  5. Galangal:

      This hard relative of Ginger Root is available in Asian markets, fresh or frozen. Frozen, already sliced, is most convenient for folks who don't use a lot of it. If you can't get it, use slices of Ginger Root - quite different flavor, but something.

  6. Thai Chilis:

      This is the "Hot" in "Hot & Sour", red or green. If you don't have them, use 2 Serranos.

  7. Broth:

      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. In Thailand today, Chicken Powder or Bouillon Cubes might be used. Liquid stocks don't keep long in a hot humid environment.

  8. 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.

  9. Options:

      This recipe can be done with only shrimp, but I embellish it with a few other items.

  10. Comments:

      Here in Los Angeles, capital of the Pacific Rim, Thai is one of our native cuisines - so we are free to embellish. Here, I have taken a Thai soup with only shrimp, straw mushrooms, and strips of bell pepper and embellished it with other seafood. I made other modest changes derived from other Thai soups. The most radical change is my use of Black Fungus, which was very successful. Black Fungus is considered mostly Chinese, but Chinese is another of our native cuisines here in LA.
  11. 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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