A Thai Mom Teaches Me How to Make Tom Yum Kung

This summer one of the Thai students that used to live with us brought his parents over for dinner.  Last time they visited I told her next time she had to teach me how to make some Thai dishes.  

When they arrived, they walked in with two bags full of groceries.  First off, we all worked together chopping the vegetables for the tom yum kung soup, a very flavorful soup with chicken and shrimp.  So many complex flavors make this soup so good!

Once the soup was simmering on the stove, we helped her cut peppers for a Thai stir-fry.  I'll share that recipe in another post.

How To Make Tom Yum Kung

1.  Prepare vegetables:
(1)  Cut 1 onion in thin slices.
(2)  Seed and chop 3 tomatoes.
(3)  Chop up 1 cup of cilantro (1/2 cup for the soup and the rest for garnishing)
(4)  Slice 4-5 green onions--slice the white bottoms and then slice the stems into 1" pieces.

2.  Prepare shrimp & chicken:  Rinse 2 chicken breasts and slice into thin bite size pieces and rinse 1 pound of shrimp.

3.  Prepare soup:
(1)  Put 10 cups of water into a soup pot.
(2)  Add in 1 1/2 T of salt and 1/2 to 3/4 cup of fresh lime juice.
(3)  Then chicken pieces and shrimp and bring to a boil.
(4)  Then reduce the temperature and add 2-3 T of  brown sugar, 3 T of fish sauce, and 1-2 T of tom yum paste.
(5)  Finally add the onions, green onions, tomatoes and 1/2 cup of cilantro and cook for about 5 minutes.
(6)  Taste and make any adjustments to the flavor.

List of My Favorite Soups, Chili & Stew Recipes: 

Beef 

Grandma's Favorite Beef Stew  (My mother-in-law's delicious recipe!)

Just Like Home Ukrainian Borscht   (A Polish student  said this tasted like his mom's!)

Poultry

This is the Best Gluten Free Minestrone Soup!   (A recipe my son modified)

Mouth Watering Italian Turkey Sausage Soup   (This is  my friend Debbie's recipe)
Mexican Fiesta Chicken Soup   (A recipe I got years ago from a Mexican cookbook)
My Thanksgiving Turkey Soup  (My very own special concoction!)
Gary's Incredible Gluten Free Arkansas Gumbo  (Given to me by a Bible study friend from Arkansas)
Jeannie's French Market Soup  (A friend from when my kids were little)
Southwest Turkey Soup  (From my Syre School cookbook)

Fish
Northwest Salmon Chowder  (From my Heritage School cookbook)
Almost Like Ivar's Clam Chowder (From my Come & Dine Cookbook)

Bean & Legumes
Vi's Best Chili  (A  Bible study friend's great recipe)
Bethany's Crowd Pleasing Tortilla Soup  (One of my daughter's friends special soup)
Country-Style Lentil Soup   (From my Heritage School cookbook)
Kathy's Texas Chili & Chips (From my Come & Dine cookbook)

Vegetable

Creamy Pumpkin Soup  (from Food Network)
My Favorite Gluten Free Pumpkin Curry Soup  (Combo from Food & All Recipes)
Downright Delicious Potato & Kale Soup  (From my daughter-in-law's family cookbook)
A Great Fall Soup - Make it From Scratch Corn Potato Chowder  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)

Asian
Chinese Chicken Soups  - Bok choy chicken, chicken & spinach, and chicken & cabbage (Modified from Internet search by our Chinese students)
Make Your Own Gluten Free Chicken Pho!  (Modified from a newspaper article)
Gluten Free Chinese Hot Pot  (Modified by a Chinese student)
Chinese Egg Drop Soup  &  Chinese Egg & Tomato Soup  (Modified  from a student's recipe)

Vegetarian & Gluten Free Tom Yum Soup (A delicious Thai soup) 
Deluxe Miso Soup (Kenchinjiru)   (Adapted from Internet search)
A Thai Mom Teaches Me How to Make Tom Yum Kung  (A student's mom's recipe)
A Vietnamese Cooking Lesson - Lien's Vietnamese Sweet & Sour Soup  (An International student's aunt's recipe)
Cooking Beef Pho for Vietnamese Students  (Modified Recipe)