Seafood Tom Yum Soup (ต้มยำทะเล)

Serves: 4

What you need

• 4 cups Seafood of your choice. You can use prawns, fish, squid, etc. Or a mixture of them.
• 300 g Mushroom, cut into medium size pieces.
• 750 ml Water (or chicken stock)
• 5 Large dried chillies
• 10 Small dried chillies
• 1/4 cups Shallots, cut into medium chunks
• 2 Tbsp Garlic, cut into medium chunks
• 4 Tbsp oil
• 2 Lemongrass, cut into 2 inch chunks
• 8 slices Galangal
• 10 Kaffir lime leaves
• 5 Tbsp Tamarind concentrate
• 5 Tbsp Fish sauce
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Coriander leaves, chopped

How to put this together

1. On low-medium heat, heat 1 Tbsp oil in pan. Add large dried chillies, fry/oil-roast until fragrant. Transfer to a bowl, including the oil.
2. In the same pan, heat another 1 Tbsp oil. Add small dried chillies, fry/oil-roast until fragrant. Transfer to the same bowl.
3. Repeat the same with shallots
4. Repeat the same with garlic
   
5. Grind together the roasted mixture (oil included) until you get a chilli paste (I use magic bullet). Add more oil to help it along, if required.
   
6. In a pot, add water + lemongrass + galangal. Bring to boil.
7. Add mushroom. Bring to boil.
8. Add chilli paste. Dissolve well.
   
9. Add kaffir lime leaves + tamarind concentrate + fish sauce + sugar.
10. Taste & season. The flavour should be quite concentrated at this point – it will dilute when we add seafood.
11. Bring the soup to a heavy boil – add seafood pieces. IMPORTANT: make sure the soup is fully boiling before you add seafood. You want them to cook quickly. Also, do NOT stir immediately after you’ve added seafood – otherwise you’ll end up with a very fishy (not in a good seafood fishy way) soup. Leave them to cook.
12. When the soup is boiling again, give it a gentle stir.
13. Taste & season.
14. Serve immediately, sprinkled with chopped coriander leaves, with steamed jasmine rice.