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Asian, Thai
hot-and-sour-soup

Photo by: Francesca Yorke

I know that for some people nothing feels more restoring than something warm and unchallengingly bland, but when it’s succor and sustenance I need, it’s spice that I want. This soup, torn yam—the culinary equivalent of Friar’s Balsam—clears the tubes and brings fire to the jaded soul. And there’s nothing like a bit of searing heat to push away any hungover seediness. It’s good for those days when you’re thick with cold, too.

It’s easy to throw together: the chicken stock I make out of boiling water and bouillon granules, and the torn yam hot and sour paste is sold now at most supermarkets, along with the other ingredients, too.

Yield : Serves 4–6

Ingredients

  • 6½ cups chicken stock
  • 1 heaping tablespoon torn yam hot and sour paste
  • 4 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped, optional
  • 1 stick lemongrass, tender inner part only, roughly chopped
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 4 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)
  • 2–3 small jalapenos or fresh red or green chillies, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1½ cups plus 2 tablespoons straw or button mushrooms, halved or quartered according to size
  • 1 pound 2 ounces peeled raw shrimp, thawed if frozen
  • 5 small scallions, cut into short lengths and then into strips
  • Small bunch cilantro, chopped

Directions

Heat the stock and torn yam paste in a decent-sized saucepan with the lime leaves, lemongrass, lime juice, fish sauce, chillies and sugar. Bring to the boil, add the mushrooms and simmer for a couple of minutes, then add the shrimp and scallions and cook for a further 2–3 minutes, or until the shrimp are cooked but still tender. Sprinkle with a little cilantro and put more on the table for people to add themselves as they want.


© 2002 Nigella Lawson
 

Nutritional Information

Nutrients per serving

Nutritional information is based on 6 servings.

204 kcal
7 % daily value
16 % daily value
2 % daily value
592 mg
71 mg
25 g
7 g
1 g
14 g
137 mg
1543 mg
1 g
5 g
17 % daily value

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