Tom yum yum yum

All this wintery weather has given me the most hideous cold I've had in years. I rarely get sick and that's probably why I hate it so much. I can't be bothered doing anything, my appetite disappears, I can't taste anything and all this makes me very grumpy indeed.
My spirits were lifted when my very excellent husband made me this delicious Tom Yum soup. The perfect antidote to whatever ails you - it has enough punch to penetrate snotty sinuses and I'm convinced it has super magic healing powers.

Tip: I usually keep a jar of tom yum paste (check the ingredients for absence of shrimp) in the fridge for a quick soup base, as getting all these ingredients can sometimes be a bit of a mission, especially if you're a bit under the weather.
You could also add tofu and/or noodles to make a meal of this soup and any veg will do, broccoli, baby corn, mangetout or capsicum would all be great additions.

Tom Yum Goong
Makes about 4 entree-sized portions or 2 big bowls

What you need
1.5 litres of marigold vegetable bouillon or any other good veg stock. Mix it up strong enough so it tastes good on its own
1-2 stalks lemongrass, tough outer layers removed and sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 whole kaffir lime leaves (available fresh or frozen at Chinese food stores, or dried in supermarkets. Use double if they're dried)
1-2 red chilies, sliced. Add less or more according to preference
1 thumb-sized piece ginger, sliced into thin matchstick pieces
3 portabello mushrooms, chopped into bite-sized pieces (enoki or shitake would be good too)
2 bunches baby bok choy cut into 3cm pieces (or broccoli, spinach or chard would work too)
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
a mini can of good-quality coconut milk
1 teaspoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
juice of a lime
a big handful of basil (roughly chopped)
a big handful of coriander (roughly chopped)

The do
Pour stock into a soup pot. Add the lemongrass, lime leaves, chili, garlic, and ginger. Bring to boil and continue boiling for 5-10 minutes.
Add the mushrooms. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5-8 minutes, or until mushrooms are soft.
Add cherry tomatoes. Gently simmer 1-2 more minutes.
Reduce heat to low and add the coconut milk, sugar, soy sauce, and lime juice. Finally, add the bok choy and gently stir. Keep on the heat until the bok choy is cooked, and then it's ready to go.

Do a taste test, and give it a tweak - add more chili if it needs more kick. If it's not salty enough, add more soy sauce or salt, add a little sugar if it's too sour and if it's too salty or sweet, add another squeeze of lime juice.

Serve in bowls with fresh basil and coriander heaped on top.

Tomyummy

A few Saturdays ago, I was hanging with the ladies on a hen do. We spent most of the day at a Burlesque afternoon tea, sipping daintily on champagne and chowing down on sandwiches, scones and cakes.
Fast forward to dinner time.
We stumbled over to Bam-bou for more cocktails and amazingly enough, more food. While I was probably too drunk to give an accurate account of the feast that was laid out before me. I will say that it was delicious, and one thing that did stand out was the spicy tomato soup...
...which I tried to recreate as a main for Sarah and Nat when they came over for dinner later that week.




What you need
Half a big red chili, sliced
One stalk of lemongrass, pounded and tied in a knot
1 onion, chopped in half then sliced thinly
a few teaspoons of vegetable bouillon
half a thumb of ginger, thinly sliced
1 bunch of coriander, chopped
1 bunch of Thai basil (or normal basil), chopped
a handful of Vietnamese coriander
a few spring onions, chopped
12 normal sized vine tomatoes, chopped into small cubes


The do
In a big pot, heat a few splashes of oil and fry chili, onion, ginger and lemongrass. When onion begins to brown, add tomatoes, fry for a few minutes. Boil a kettle of water (approx 2L) and pour into pot. Add bouillon, taste and add more if required. Turn heat down and allow to simmer for about half an hour to an hour.
Just before serving, add all the chopped herbs and stir. Season with a little soy if needed and serve with your favourite noodles. I choose superfine white Chinese noodles. Vermicelli would work well too.


During dinner, Nat showed us the form she had to fill out at the police station about how her leg got squashed between two cars. One requirement was to draw the accident scene, which we all found so hilarious we almost choked on our extra-fine noodles.



P.S For another variation on tomato soup, check out Lily's Spicy roast tomato soup

'Long time no eat' spicy roast tomato soup

No one wants to be on the receiving end of a blustering excuse so I'll keep the 'lack of post' slash 'repetition of tomato' apologies brief. First, Chew’s been working her head off and I’ve been moving house. So that's that. Second, I have more tomatoes because it just happens to be the season for them. Plus, Chew needs a hearty soup to help revive her hard yakka bones.

So… this little red girl is for whenever you are feeling like a jangling shell rather than a fighting machine and are after some boosting. I don't think you need any more veg than the tomato but I added some because my lovely house friend is of the opinion that soup doesn't count as food so I am obliged to make it chunky.



What you need

1/2 onion, chopped
2 lemon grass sticks (discard the hard outer bits and finely slice the rest)
2 green chilis, finely chopped
A little person's thumb of fresh ginger, finely grated (ie. not much but then I'm not a huge ginger lover)
1 large potato, cubed (or six little ones, halved)
1 zuchinni, finely sliced
A bunch of fresh coriander
6 big tomatoes (or more if you want)
2 garlic cloves
Miso paste or veg stock
Olive oil
Salt'n'pepa
Water to fill your soup pot

How it goes

Preheat the oven to 200c. Chop 2 of the tomatoes into quarters then toss them with olive oil and your potatoes in an oven tray (with some salt'n'pepa and a splash of red wine vinegar if you want). Squash, shell and roughly chop the garlic into quarters. Stuff them into the tomatoes then put the tray of veggies in the oven to roast for 15-20 minutes.

In a soup sized pot, fry the onion on med-low heat to soften with the lemon grass, chilli and ginger. After a few minutes, add the zuchinni and whatever other fresh veg you desire. When the onion is soft, add the diced tomato, water and miso paste (or veg stock). Add your roast veg and and their juices (swill a little water around the pan if need be). Bring the whole shebang to a boil then let it simmer like a grumpy old drunk for at least 30 minutes.

This is a real cleansing soup. If you've got some crusty bread, great. If you’ve got a crusty nose, you'll be whistling dixie by the morning.

POLENTHAI

It is late afternoon on a warm spring day. I have just returned from scoffing down the perfect hangover breakfast (halloumi and spinach on toast with a side of grilled tomato and chips) at Cafe Z Bar, followed by a carefree afternoon of newspaper reading in Clissold Park with Kelly and Andrew.
There's a load of washing on the go, and I've opened every door and window in the flat to welcome in the glorious spring breeze.
And now it's time to get down to some serious culinary business.

My Vietnamese mint plant needs a little trim and I have been thinking about what I want to do with its bitter spicy goodness. Vietnamese rice paper rolls are an obvious choice. Problem is, I have none of the ingredients handy and either does the corner shop.
After excavating part of the pantry I discover some polenta and coconut milk, a quick fridge rummage yields some lemongrass and coriander.
Look out everyone! Asian fusion is in the house!


POLENTHAI
This makes about about 8 portions

What you need
500g polenta (NOT instant)
2L water
3 short stalks of lemongrass
5-6 dried kaffir lime leaves (fresh is infinitely better - if you have some, use 3-4)
4 tsp stock
1 tsp chilli flakes
bunch of coriander with roots intact
1 can coconut milk
sweet chilli sauce (bought from Chinese grocer)

Wash the coriander very, very thoroughly and chop off the roots. Bag the top and keep in the fridge for later. Chop the roots up as finely as you can be bothered. Set aside.



In a big heavy based pot, bring the water to the boil. Prepare the lemongrass by smashing the butt of your knife down onto the base of the stalks a few times, exposing the inner core of flavour.



Throw the lemongrass into the pot along with the kaffir leaves (rip these in half as you put them in), chilli flakes and stock. Simmer for 30 mins or longer - add salt or more stock to taste, it should be like a light fragrant soup. Fish out the lemongrass and leaves. Add coconut milk and chopped coriander root. Stir.
Turn the heat right down so the water is still. Add polenta slowly in a thin stream, mixing as you go along. Keep mixing every so often for around 30-45 minutes or until the polenta comes away from the side of the pot.



When ready, wet a slice tray and spread the mixture in evenly with a wet spatula. Cool and keep in fridge. Once set, it can be kept for a later date or used straight away.

To serve, pan fry on medium heat in a generous lug of oil, until it develop a nice golden crust, flip over and repeat.
Pile torn Vietnamese mint leaves and coriander on top, and drizzle with sweet chilli sauce.