I made a "Thai-style" shrimp soup yesterday. I should have realized it was
watered down for western tastes when I read that ubiquitous hyphenated
"style" on the recipe.

It was supposed to have *lemon* juice, lemon zest, and jalapenos. It tasted
like a pale, weak imitation of a simply fabulous Thai chicken and rice soup
I made some time ago. No garlic (??), no chillies, no curry paste - it was
supposed to be poured over freshly-cooked rice.

Nick, I've never heard of Thai recipes using lemon juice, it's always lime
juice or tamarind for sourness. Am I wrong? Does anyone else know?

Oh, yes - 1 Tbsp fish sauce for approximately 6 cups of combined
ingredients (including water). I spiced it up with some hot Thai chillies,
some lobster soup base, doubled the peppercorns, added shrimp-shell stock,
and doubled the fish sauce, but it's gonna need work.

Advice, folks?

Thanks in advance,

sq

On Sun, 09 Jan 2005 22:57:47 -0000, "mroo philpott-smythe"
wrote:


I made a "Thai-style" shrimp soup yesterday. I should have realized it was
watered down for western tastes when I read that ubiquitous hyphenated
"style" on the recipe.

It was supposed to have *lemon* juice, lemon zest, and jalapenos. It tasted
like a pale, weak imitation of a simply fabulous Thai chicken and rice soup
I made some time ago. No garlic (??), no chillies, no curry paste - it was
supposed to be poured over freshly-cooked rice.

Nick, I've never heard of Thai recipes using lemon juice, it's always lime
juice or tamarind for sourness. Am I wrong? Does anyone else know?

Oh, yes - 1 Tbsp fish sauce for approximately 6 cups of combined
ingredients (including water). I spiced it up with some hot Thai chillies,
some lobster soup base, doubled the peppercorns, added shrimp-shell stock,
and doubled the fish sauce, but it's gonna need work.

Advice, folks?

Thanks in advance,

sq

Go with some coconut milk and a bit of lemon grass & galagal, if you
can get them.

Boron

On Sun, 09 Jan 2005 22:57:47 -0000, "mroo philpott-smythe"
wrote:


I made a "Thai-style" shrimp soup yesterday. I should have realized it was
watered down for western tastes when I read that ubiquitous hyphenated
"style" on the recipe.

It was supposed to have *lemon* juice, lemon zest, and jalapenos. It tasted
like a pale, weak imitation of a simply fabulous Thai chicken and rice soup
I made some time ago. No garlic (??), no chillies, no curry paste - it was
supposed to be poured over freshly-cooked rice.

Nick, I've never heard of Thai recipes using lemon juice, it's always lime
juice or tamarind for sourness. Am I wrong? Does anyone else know?

Oh, yes - 1 Tbsp fish sauce for approximately 6 cups of combined
ingredients (including water). I spiced it up with some hot Thai chillies,
some lobster soup base, doubled the peppercorns, added shrimp-shell stock,
and doubled the fish sauce, but it's gonna need work.

Advice, folks?

Thanks in advance,

sq

Go with some coconut milk and a bit of lemon grass & galagal, if you
can get them.

Boron

"mroo philpott-smythe" wrote in message
...

I made a "Thai-style" shrimp soup yesterday. I should have realized it was
watered down for western tastes when I read that ubiquitous hyphenated
"style" on the recipe.

It was supposed to have *lemon* juice, lemon zest, and jalapenos. It
tasted
like a pale, weak imitation of a simply fabulous Thai chicken and rice
soup
I made some time ago. No garlic (??), no chillies, no curry paste - it was
supposed to be poured over freshly-cooked rice.

Nick, I've never heard of Thai recipes using lemon juice, it's always lime
juice or tamarind for sourness. Am I wrong? Does anyone else know?


No, you're right. Lemon is a sub-tropical fruit; lime is tropical. I don't
even like lemons, except with sweet things like tarts... I love limes
though, especially lemonade made with limes. Limeade? They call it
lemonade in Vietnamese restaurants here, and I dislike the implications so
much that I order it in Vietnamese as "soda chanh." Yes, kinda strange, I
guess....

Peter

"mroo philpott-smythe" wrote in message
...

I made a "Thai-style" shrimp soup yesterday. I should have realized it was
watered down for western tastes when I read that ubiquitous hyphenated
"style" on the recipe.

It was supposed to have *lemon* juice, lemon zest, and jalapenos. It
tasted
like a pale, weak imitation of a simply fabulous Thai chicken and rice
soup
I made some time ago. No garlic (??), no chillies, no curry paste - it was
supposed to be poured over freshly-cooked rice.

Nick, I've never heard of Thai recipes using lemon juice, it's always lime
juice or tamarind for sourness. Am I wrong? Does anyone else know?


No, you're right. Lemon is a sub-tropical fruit; lime is tropical. I don't
even like lemons, except with sweet things like tarts... I love limes
though, especially lemonade made with limes. Limeade? They call it
lemonade in Vietnamese restaurants here, and I dislike the implications so
much that I order it in Vietnamese as "soda chanh." Yes, kinda strange, I
guess....

Peter

"mroo philpott-smythe" wrote in message
...

Nick, I've never heard of Thai recipes using lemon juice, it's always lime
juice or tamarind for sourness. Am I wrong? Does anyone else know?


FWIW, Thai ex-pats often use lemons instead of limes if they live in areas
where limes are too expensive. One of my friends in Japan feels it is a
small sacrifice to pay when faced with never having her favourite foods
again because she can't afford limes. I, however, would rather buy a $2
lime and just eat Thai food less frequently.

rona

--
***For e-mail, replace .com with .ca Sorry for the inconvenience!***

"[America] is filled with people who decided not to live in Europe. We had
people who really wanted to live in Europe, but didn't have the energy to go
back. We call them Canadians."
---Grover Norquist in Newsweek, November 22, 2004

sq

"mroo philpott-smythe" wrote in message
...

Nick, I've never heard of Thai recipes using lemon juice, it's always lime
juice or tamarind for sourness. Am I wrong? Does anyone else know?


FWIW, Thai ex-pats often use lemons instead of limes if they live in areas
where limes are too expensive. One of my friends in Japan feels it is a
small sacrifice to pay when faced with never having her favourite foods
again because she can't afford limes. I, however, would rather buy a $2
lime and just eat Thai food less frequently.

rona

--
***For e-mail, replace .com with .ca Sorry for the inconvenience!***

"[America] is filled with people who decided not to live in Europe. We had
people who really wanted to live in Europe, but didn't have the energy to go
back. We call them Canadians."
---Grover Norquist in Newsweek, November 22, 2004

sq

Boron Elgar wrote in
:

On Sun, 09 Jan 2005 22:57:47 -0000, "mroo philpott-smythe"
wrote:


I made a "Thai-style" shrimp soup yesterday. I should have realized it
was watered down for western tastes when I read that ubiquitous
hyphenated "style" on the recipe.

It was supposed to have *lemon* juice, lemon zest, and jalapenos. It
tasted like a pale, weak imitation of a simply fabulous Thai chicken
and rice soup I made some time ago. No garlic (??), no chillies, no
curry paste - it was supposed to be poured over freshly-cooked rice.

Nick, I've never heard of Thai recipes using lemon juice, it's always
lime juice or tamarind for sourness. Am I wrong? Does anyone else
know?

Oh, yes - 1 Tbsp fish sauce for approximately 6 cups of combined
ingredients (including water). I spiced it up with some hot Thai
chillies, some lobster soup base, doubled the peppercorns, added
shrimp-shell stock, and doubled the fish sauce, but it's gonna need
work.

Advice, folks?

Thanks in advance,

sq

Go with some coconut milk and a bit of lemon grass & galagal, if you
can get them.

The recipe required 1 cup of coconut milk, which I did use, and although
I had lemongrass, I didn't add it, but you're right, it would have made
the soup immeasurably better.

Next time I'll try 12 hot chillies also.

sq

Boron Elgar wrote in
:

On Sun, 09 Jan 2005 22:57:47 -0000, "mroo philpott-smythe"
wrote:


I made a "Thai-style" shrimp soup yesterday. I should have realized it
was watered down for western tastes when I read that ubiquitous
hyphenated "style" on the recipe.

It was supposed to have *lemon* juice, lemon zest, and jalapenos. It
tasted like a pale, weak imitation of a simply fabulous Thai chicken
and rice soup I made some time ago. No garlic (??), no chillies, no
curry paste - it was supposed to be poured over freshly-cooked rice.

Nick, I've never heard of Thai recipes using lemon juice, it's always
lime juice or tamarind for sourness. Am I wrong? Does anyone else
know?

Oh, yes - 1 Tbsp fish sauce for approximately 6 cups of combined
ingredients (including water). I spiced it up with some hot Thai
chillies, some lobster soup base, doubled the peppercorns, added
shrimp-shell stock, and doubled the fish sauce, but it's gonna need
work.

Advice, folks?

Thanks in advance,

sq

Go with some coconut milk and a bit of lemon grass & galagal, if you
can get them.

The recipe required 1 cup of coconut milk, which I did use, and although
I had lemongrass, I didn't add it, but you're right, it would have made
the soup immeasurably better.

Next time I'll try 12 hot chillies also.

sq

"Peter Dy" wrote in
:
"mroo philpott-smythe" wrote in message
...

I made a "Thai-style" shrimp soup yesterday. I should have realized
it was watered down for western tastes when I read that ubiquitous
hyphenated "style" on the recipe.

It was supposed to have *lemon* juice, lemon zest, and jalapenos. It
tasted
like a pale, weak imitation of a simply fabulous Thai chicken and
rice soup
I made some time ago. No garlic (??), no chillies, no curry paste -
it was supposed to be poured over freshly-cooked rice.

Nick, I've never heard of Thai recipes using lemon juice, it's always
lime juice or tamarind for sourness. Am I wrong? Does anyone else
know?

No, you're right. Lemon is a sub-tropical fruit; lime is tropical. I
don't even like lemons, except with sweet things like tarts... I love
limes though, especially lemonade made with limes. Limeade? They
call it lemonade in Vietnamese restaurants here, and I dislike the
implications so much that I order it in Vietnamese as "soda chanh."
Yes, kinda strange, I guess....

Hi, Peter, welcome back, happy New Year!

Lemon just doesn't have enough zing to it! I just had the leftovers,
reheated with about 1 Tbsp frozen lemon zest (I have a Meyer lemon tree,
so I have an endless supply of zest), and it was better, but still not
there.

Thanks for the info, though.

sq

"Rona Yuthasastrakosol" wrote in message
...
"mroo philpott-smythe" wrote in message
...

Nick, I've never heard of Thai recipes using lemon juice, it's
always lime
juice or tamarind for sourness. Am I wrong? Does anyone else know?


FWIW, Thai ex-pats often use lemons instead of limes if they live in
areas
where limes are too expensive. One of my friends in Japan feels it
is a
small sacrifice to pay when faced with never having her favourite
foods
again because she can't afford limes. I, however, would rather buy
a $2
lime and just eat Thai food less frequently.

rona

Contrastingly, I'm told that lemons are rather expensive in Mexico and
limes are not, hence Mexican food often uses limes. The results are
pretty good and I'll certainly go along with the custom of a slice of
lime in my beer! Fortunately, limes and lemons are relatively
inexpensive where I live,


--
James V. Silverton
Potomac, Maryland, USA

"Rona Yuthasastrakosol" wrote in message
...
"mroo philpott-smythe" wrote in message
...

Nick, I've never heard of Thai recipes using lemon juice, it's
always lime
juice or tamarind for sourness. Am I wrong? Does anyone else know?


FWIW, Thai ex-pats often use lemons instead of limes if they live in
areas
where limes are too expensive. One of my friends in Japan feels it
is a
small sacrifice to pay when faced with never having her favourite
foods
again because she can't afford limes. I, however, would rather buy
a $2
lime and just eat Thai food less frequently.

rona

Contrastingly, I'm told that lemons are rather expensive in Mexico and
limes are not, hence Mexican food often uses limes. The results are
pretty good and I'll certainly go along with the custom of a slice of
lime in my beer! Fortunately, limes and lemons are relatively
inexpensive where I live,


--
James V. Silverton
Potomac, Maryland, USA

"Rona Yuthasastrakosol" wrote in
:

"mroo philpott-smythe" wrote in message
...

Nick, I've never heard of Thai recipes using lemon juice, it's always
lime juice or tamarind for sourness. Am I wrong? Does anyone else
know?


FWIW, Thai ex-pats often use lemons instead of limes if they live in
areas where limes are too expensive. One of my friends in Japan feels
it is a small sacrifice to pay when faced with never having her
favourite foods again because she can't afford limes. I, however,
would rather buy a $2 lime and just eat Thai food less frequently.

$2 for A SINGLE LIME???? Excuse me while I faint.

Dad had lime trees, so he just always booted us out into the garden to
pick limes, chillies, brinjals (eggplant), okra, and anything else he
might need for his cooking.

I think limes are 10c apiece, here, so I never even think about it.

sq

"Rona Yuthasastrakosol" wrote in
:

"mroo philpott-smythe" wrote in message
...

Nick, I've never heard of Thai recipes using lemon juice, it's always
lime juice or tamarind for sourness. Am I wrong? Does anyone else
know?


FWIW, Thai ex-pats often use lemons instead of limes if they live in
areas where limes are too expensive. One of my friends in Japan feels
it is a small sacrifice to pay when faced with never having her
favourite foods again because she can't afford limes. I, however,
would rather buy a $2 lime and just eat Thai food less frequently.

$2 for A SINGLE LIME???? Excuse me while I faint.

Dad had lime trees, so he just always booted us out into the garden to
pick limes, chillies, brinjals (eggplant), okra, and anything else he
might need for his cooking.

I think limes are 10c apiece, here, so I never even think about it.

sq

"James Silverton" wrote in
:
"Rona Yuthasastrakosol" wrote in message
...
"mroo philpott-smythe" wrote in message
...


Nick, I've never heard of Thai recipes using lemon juice, it's
always lime
juice or tamarind for sourness. Am I wrong? Does anyone else know?

FWIW, Thai ex-pats often use lemons instead of limes if they live in
areas
where limes are too expensive. One of my friends in Japan feels it
is a
small sacrifice to pay when faced with never having her favourite
foods
again because she can't afford limes. I, however, would rather buy
a $2 lime and just eat Thai food less frequently.

Contrastingly, I'm told that lemons are rather expensive in Mexico and
limes are not, hence Mexican food often uses limes. The results are
pretty good and I'll certainly go along with the custom of a slice of
lime in my beer! Fortunately, limes and lemons are relatively
inexpensive where I live,

$2 for a single lime is enough to give anyone a myocardial infarct.

sq, "Counting my blessings, now"