Bowled over by Soup : Vegetarian Tom yum Thai

We had a hailstorm here in the middle of summer, bringing down the temperature drastically. What else is better on a cool night than a bowl of hot soup? I set the stock base simmering while I chopped all the vegetables, when my son came home, the whiff of the aroma hit the minute I opened the door and he was hungry instantly!

I love Thai cuisine just because it is such an interesting mix of herbs and spices along with the melange of vegetables making it a very healthy cuisine. 

The key to Thai cooking are its ingredients. I often have a jar of a basic Thai paste in my fridge. It is essentially a mix of Galangal, lemon grass, kafir lime leaves, fresh red chillies, green coriander stalks and lemon juice. I grind everything to as fine a paste as possible, and freeze in ice cube trays. I later store the cubes in zip top bags and use the cubes as required. Please use a separate ice cube tray or your regular ice cubes will taste of the paste.

Vegetarian Tom Yum Soup

Ingredients

4 cups water/ homemade vegetable stock

2 tbsp thick tamarind extract

2/3 tbsp of my homemade Thai paste or Tom yum soup paste

1-2 cups chopped Vegetables of you choice ( mine are zucchini, baby corn, mushroom, cabbage, red chillies and spring onions)

4-6 kaffir lime leaves

Few stalks of coriander leaf ( leaf removed, only stem)

10 basil leaves

Salt to taste

Method

Heat water add, tamarind extract, salt, Thai paste, kafir lime leaves, coriander stalks and bring to a boil. When you get a wonderful soupy aroma ( about 5-8 minutes) add the vegetables and cook further for a few minutes. Remove from heat and serve immediately with a few leaves of basil. Suwadee