Disclaimer:
This is not a typical recipe in typical form. It's written as I speak, so please hear my voice as you follow the process, because I am actually dictating this to you with love. Or something that may resemble it. Or at least discontempt.
So, I love to cook. If you don't know me, I'm telling you right now. Let there be no questions. I love to cook. And then, I don't even mind eating what I cook. Actually, I'd say that both preparing and consuming food is a huge passion of mine. Often when I feel in a funk a good cook session will cure me a bit. If not then only copious amounts of copiousness would help. Me and my tangents... Back on course. With this Paleo business I've had a lot of fun trying to create and make food taste delicious. And, I'd say that I'm doing nicely. I do follow recipes to an extent, but then I just let my passion juices flow and I end up creating things that are really tasty. So tasty that I don't even mind making enough for a week's worth of leftovers. And then, I love to eat them even a week later. One of said dishes is Tom Yum soup. Now, I was very intimidated by this. I don't know why, but I was. I've had success in soups before (crab butternut bisque, leaves me drooling just thinking of it. And, also cream of garlic so rich and delicious that I grew an extra pant size because I ate the whole pot. By myself. In one sitting. Psych!! I didn't really) However, Thai soups had me a bit paralyzed at the cutting board. But, I conquered my fear and I valiantly and stalwartly carried on chopping, and mincing, and tearing, and plucking. And two days later I had produced one of my favorite dishes that I've ever cooked... and also the best Tom Yum soup that I've ever had. The end! I'm great and fantastic.
Psych!!! again. The real reason of this post is to share my joyousness of joy and passion. And, all things Thai.
So, the day before I made up my chicken stock. Now, the easiest way I found to do this was to grab a whole rotisserie chicken (Not totally Paleo, they use some stuff in there, but I'm okay with a little poison in my system). Lazy, I know, but it's cheaper and easier than actually making my own whole chicken just so I can make chicken stock from scratch. (It was my first ever stock from pot experience. It was a wildly pleasant experience that I would recommend to anyone. I just felt so June Cleaver about the whole thing) Plus, I got to use all the delicious meat in the recipe. After spending many moments getting burned by the piping hot chicken, fresh off the presses, I threw all the guts & such into a pot with some water, and a little of this and a little of that. You know, limp celery, onions that were sprouting shoots, carrots that not even bugs bunny would touch, fresh parsley, bay leaves that I had collected from the tree in my front yard, etc. And, I let it boil all evening long. When I could no longer take the aroma of the carcass melting into something so useful I pulled it off the stove and threw it in the fridge.
Soups On! So, I threw a moderate amount of stock on the stove....I'm talking about half of what I made. Remember, the stock is your base. So, as big of a batch as you want is how much stock you need. Now, next was my almost favorite part. I got to use fresh lemon grass! I've never even thought about it in my cooking before. Now I'm such a fan that I want to put it in my muffins. Yum! I grabbed a couple stalks, chopped and chopped (you can't use the top 1/2 as anything other than a twig floating in your soup...but still adds great flavor) I felt like I was just mincing up scallions, but with a much better aroma. Throw those little suckers in your stock and let it boil until you smell the lemony grassyness permeating the range. In the mean time I grabbed some shitake mushrooms, like 8-10, and thinly sliced them. Also, dried red peppers, 4-5 depending on your bravery and honor in the heat arena. (I could take more, but I didn't want the children to not eat the soup) Chop those up so you gots all sorts of flakes and seeds flying all around (I also threw in a couple whole just to add a little surprise as you ate. Like, a cracker jacks surprise) and then a few cloves, 3-6 cloves, of garlic minced. And, like 4-5 kaffir lime leaves. You let that all boil for a few. A good few. Like, long enough to chop up all the other veggies and stuff that you're gonna be putting in. I Like broccoli, tomato, carrot, and some red and green pepper. After cutting them all up into pretty little pieces I threw it into the the base with the chicken from the day before also. Let it cook until the veggies are edible. Well, actually, they're always edible. But once you get to the point that you can't stand it anymore that's when you throw both coconut milk and fish oil to taste. Now, fish oil has got to be one of the nastiest concepts, but boy does it make everything taste so darn delicious. I like me some coconut milk too. Once you add those final two ingredients MMMM.....perfection comes to pass in soup form. So delicious. And, now my second batch is done.....now. I'm peacing out to stuff my face.
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