TOM YUM (YUM YUM)

Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: 12 minutes

This is an invigorating, spicy Thai soup made with shrimp and oyster mushrooms, and flavored with chili, lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves.

7 ounces sustainably

sourced raw shrimp 4¼ cups boiling water 1 stick of lemongrass,

lightly bruised

1¼ inch piece of galangal,

coarsely sliced

6 lime leaves, torn into

pieces

1 hot red chili and 1 mild green chili, sliced into rings (seed the red chili and use just half if you don’t like heat) 6 cloves of garlic, peeled 1 teaspoon palm or

brown sugar

1¾ ounce oyster mushrooms, torn into bite-size pieces 1 tablespoon fish sauce,

or more to taste juice of 1 lime, or more to

taste

To serve: cilantro Peel and devein the

shrimp and set aside.

Pour the boiling water into a saucepan set over medium heat. Add the bruised lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves, chili and garlic, and simmer together for about 8 minutes. Bring up to a steady boil, then add the sugar, mushrooms and shrimp. Cover with a lid and cook for 3 minutes, or until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.

Remove from the heat and add the fish sauce and lime juice, then taste and decide if you would like to add more of either.

Ladle the soup into large bowls, leaving behind the lemongrass stalk and as much of the lime leaves, garlic, and galangal as you can, as none of these are good to eat. Garnish with the cilantro and eat straightaway.

Tip: Try this with chicken or chunks of firm-fleshed fish, or make it vegetarian by poaching Asian greens, broccoli, beans and pepper in the broth. For the classic red color, swirl in a spoonful of Thai roasted chili paste, nam phrik phao, at the end of cooking.

Serves: 4 as an appetizer or 2 as a main course Per appetizer serving: 74 calories (percent of calories from fat, 11), 11 grams protein, 5 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 1 gram fat (trace saturated fat), 75 milligrams cholesterol, 432 milligrams sodium.