"Jean B." wrote in message

"limey" wrote:
>>>I love Thai food. Does this recipe sound as if it's worth making?
>>>
>>>Dora
>>>
>>>Lemon-Grass Soup
>>>
>>>2 pounds large shrimp, still shelled
>>>2 stalks lemon grass, diced
>>>2 large red chile peppers
>>>fresh coriander
>>>1 to 2 tablespoons (to taste) palm sugar or crystallized honey
>>>2 limes (divided use)
>>>1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms
>>>64 ounces chicken stock
>>>3 tablespoons (or to taste) Thai fish sauce
>>>
>>>Clean and shell shrimp, reserve the shells for the broth. In a mortar
>>>and pestle, combine the diced lemon grass, red chile peppers and the
>>>coriander stalks and crush so that the ingredients are pulverized but not
>>>mush.
>>>
>>>Add palm sugar to taste and juice of 1 lime and continue crushing until
>>>well mixed. Remove stems from the mushrooms and thickly slice.
>>>
>>>Bring pot to a high temperature and sear
>>>the shrimp shells, stirring, until cooked. Lower temperature, add
>>>chicken stock and simmer for a few minutes, then strain shells and
>>>discard. Bring the stock to a high simmer, add shrimp, followed by the
>>>mushrooms and the seasoning mixture. Add fish sauce to taste.
>>>
>>>Lower flame and check the shrimp after a few minutes. The shrimp should
>>>be done but plump and giving to the teeth. Do not overcook them. The
>>>colors of the shrimp and the seasoning should be bright.
>>>
>>>Adjust the acidity with the remaining lime, to taste. Add chopped
>>>coriander leaves to garnish.
>>>
>>>Source: Baltimore Sunpapers
>>
>>

>
> That and I can't imagine this soup with sweetener or any ilk in it. I
> would be comparing it to tom yum kung, which this recipe otherwise
> resembles.
> --
> Jean B.

I agree - leave out the sweetener. That's not appealing. I checked and
agree that the recipe sounds somewhat similar to several I found for tom yum
kung. I also like Sheldon's advice of a more Asian type chicken stock. I
did find a photograph and it does look like a stew - plenty of shrimp!

The recipe's author was named Jason Lee - perhaps it was an American-Chinese
adaptation? According to the judge of the contest, it was really scarfed
up, but I'm going to try the more authentic version.

Thanks, everybody.

Dora