Tom Yom Shrimp and Noodle Soup

Something that's always disappointed me about DC has been the lack of ethnic culture in the city.  Sure, we have some really great restaurants, but where am I supposed to get my chopped liver? Where can I get a hot stone bi bim bop? And, maybe I'm just from Boston and have always been spoiled, but I've yet to have a really good (and not overpriced) Italian meal - with homemade pasta, fresh seafood, and way over-sized portions.



After being here for a while, I found that there is one ethnic fix that I can't get in the District - but exists just a short drive away (when someone's willing to take me).  Fantastic, authentic (I don't mean orange flavored chicken) Chinese food.  "Chinatown" in DC is a hoax - it mostly has a bunch of chain stores and restaurants (like Legal Seafood and Clyde's) with their names in Chinese.  The real Chinatown exists just north of the District in southern Maryland.



This weekend, the Monkey Scientist and I took a trip up to Wheaton, MD.  We had some really good dim sum at Hollywood East and then made a trip to the H Mart there.  I have to admit, not the best H Mart I've ever been to, but I found nearly everything I needed for several dishes - including this Tom Yom soup.  Tom Yom is one of my favorite soups - Paragon Thai and Spices in Cleveland Park make delicious versions.  I've been wanting to try making my own for a few months now, so I got all of the ingredients I could at H Mart to make it this week!



My Tom Yom Soup broth wasn't as dark or red as the versions I've eaten in restaurants.  I think that this color may come from using dried chilis and frying them with the shallots at the beginning - I'd like to try making this again to see if that works.  The flavor however, was really close - I was actually surprised!  And man oh man is this broth good - sweet, sour, a little bit spicy, and the lemongrass is so unique and brings great depth of flavor.

I decided to add rice noodles to give this soup a little more substance so that we could have it as dinner - Paragon Thai has a version similar to this that they serve as a meal - but if you wanted to serve this as an appetizer you could leave them out.  I also changed the recipe below to use about half as many noodles as I actually used, since they soaked up almost all of the broth, and the broth really is the best part.

You could also add more vegetables at the end if you wanted, but I like the simplicity of this soup with such a complex broth.  Other things that may make sense to add would be chicken and green onions (my store has been out of green onions for a while).  My final review?  This a really great soup that will impress your family and friends.  Take a trip to your local Asian market and make this - you won't regret it!



Tom Yom Shrimp and Noodle Soup
Adapted from Wandering Chopsticks and Tyler Florence

Ingredients
1 lb shrimp with shells and heads
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large shallot, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 inch knob galangal or ginger, minced
2 quarts fish stock (water or chicken stock would work, too)
2 tsp tamarind paste (optional, but add umami)
2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar (white or brown)
1 tbsp fish sauce
3 small Vietnamese red chili peppers, diced (more if you like it hot)
2 limes, zested and juiced
4 oz small-width rice stick noodles
1 15-oz can straw mushrooms, drained

Instructions
1. Peel and de-vein shrimp. Set aside both shrimp and the shells in separate bowls.
2. In a heavy pot over medium heat, heat oil. Once hot, add shallots, garlic, and galangal or ginger. Sauté until edges begin turning brown.
3. Add shrimp heads and sauté until pink. Add stock.
4. Mix in tamarind paste, lemongrass, salt, sugar, fish sauce, chili peppers, lime juice and zest. Simmer 1/2 hour.
5. Meanwhile, soak noodles in warm water for 5-10 minutes. Strain.
6. Strain out all of the ingredients from the soup to get a clean broth. Return to a simmer/gentle boil then add shrimp, noodles, and mushrooms. Cook for 5-8 minutes until noodles are soft and shrimp is cooked through. Serve immediately.

Chicken Massaman Curry [Guest Chef]

photo by Amanda Farr

I've been busy going to happy hours and Red Sox/Orioles games, so I haven't been cooking too much this week. However, I couldn't leave you hungry.  I'm going to welcome back my coworker, Amanda, who tested this recipe and took some photos to share with you today.

photo by Amanda Farr

Massaman Curry is my absolute favorite dish to get at a Thai restaurant... the only thing I probably order more often is Pad Thai.  We usually order beef, but lately I've been wanting to cut down on my red meat intake.  Massaman Curry is complemented by sweet and delicious coconut milk. You can't go wrong with coconut milk.

photo by Amanda Farr

There definitely are some unusual ingredients here so you may need to take a trip to the Asian market.  If you're buying fish sauce, BUY SQUID BRAND. It's the best I've ever used, and I have most frequently bought it at Asian markets.  I have to admit though, Amanda used some really good looking brand, so that might be better.  Either way, don't sniff the fish sauce... it smells terrible but it blends with all of the other ingredients to create the most amazing flavors.

photo by Amanda Farr

Amanda did make some adjustments from the original recipe.  I know when I make this, I'll probably use ground cardamom out of laziness.  If you use whole, and for the star anise, make sure you take them out when you're done making it.  Amanda almost broke a tooth at lunch the other day when there was a star anise left in the curry.

Photo by Amanda Farr

I really want to try this one myself.  Amanda really enjoyed it, and it looked scrumptious.  You can serve it up with a big side of jasmine or sticky rice... perfection.

Photo by Amanda Farr

Chicken Massaman Curry
adapted from the very hungry cook

Ingredients
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
3 tbsp massaman curry paste
8 whole cardamom seeds, crushed with the side of a knife and your palm
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 star anise
1 onion
1 can coconut milk
1 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
2 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/2 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tbsp brown sugar
3-4 tbsp roasted, unsalted peanuts
2 tbsp peanut oil

Instructions
1. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces
2. Add 1 tbsp of oil and the massaman curry paste to the chicken.  Mix well, set aside to marinate.
3. Heat the remaining oil in the pan.  Once the oil is hot, fry the cinnamon, cardamom and star anise for 30 seconds.  Add the onion and fry until golden brown.
4. Add the chicken and turn to low.  Let cook 3-5 min.
5. Add the coconut milk, fish sauce, water, potatoes and peanuts.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Cover and simmer for 30 min or until potatoes and chicken are cooked through.  If needed, remove the lid and cook until the curry reaches desired thickness.  Check seasoning and then remove the pan from the flame.
6. Stir in the tamarind paste and brown sugar.  Serve hot with jasmine rice.

Chicken Pad Thai

This weekend, my coworker took me and another coworker shopping up on the Rockville Pike.  My family sold my car when I moved to DC, so my coworker took me to all of the stores I can't access on public transportation.  It was a wonderful day! My absolute favorite of these stops was an Asian market called H-Mart.

H-Mart is AMAZING. It has every ingredient I couldn't find anywhere else, and with great prices! One of the hardest things to find in average grocery stores was tamarind paste - but they had it at H-Mart! And it was only about $2.  And Squid fish sauce is the best kind.  A huge bottle was about $2 as well - a tiny bottle of a much less authentic brand costs me twice as much at my local grocery store.

H-Mart also had the most gorgeous produce I've seen in a long time.  And again, AMAZING prices.  These gorgeous scallions were wide and bright and crisp and only $0.25/bunch.  This is only HALF a bunch. Unbelievable.

The tamarind paste is an absolute necessity in this recipe.  It give it the "pad thai flavor" from the takeout version.  Look for it in your local Asian market, or order it online. (and if you do take a trip to the Asian market, pick up some gochujang too; you just might need it for one of my next recipes! hint hint)

I did adapt the recipe a little to make it chicken instead of shrimp pad thai.  I picked up this Thai Spice Blend on my spice shopping spree at World Market and used it to season the chicken.

I'm obsessed with this spice.  It's warm from the cinnamon but also has an interesting Thai flavor from dried shrimp, along with several other spices.  Even though it has cilantro (ick!) in it, I can't wait to keep using this spice.  If you have a World Market near you, you should pick this up - totally worth $2.99!

The rest of the recipe comes together pretty easily.  Like with other Thai noodle recipes, there are a couple scrambled eggs and some scallions, and of course garlic.

Also, I had green cabbage in the fridge from my cabbage, potato, and leek soup, so I used that instead of Nappa cabbage. It wilted down a lot and worked out great!  Still, if you were going to make this and didn't happen to have green cabbage lying around, Nappa would be the right cabbage to use.

The hardest part of this recipe was stirring all the ingredients together.  It made a total mess of my stove.  I used a spaghetti fork and tongs to get the job done, but it definitely took some careful maneuvering and some time. And some Lysol wipes when all was said and done.

The final product was delicious! I thought it tasted the closest to restaurant pad thai of any homemade recipe I've ever used.  Plus I used barely any oil, so I feel like it was way healthier than getting takeout. I topped it with lots of lime juice and peanuts, which added the extra zing to put it over the top.  It definitely isn't a simple one pot meal, but I think it was worth doing the dishes for!

Chicken Pad Thai
Slightly adapted from the New York Times

Ingredients:

4 ounces medium-width rice stick noodles
2-4 tablespoons peanut oil

2 to 4 tablespoons tamarind paste

1/4 cup fish sauce (nam pla)

1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast or tenders

1 tablespoon Thai Spice Blend (from World Market)

1/4 cup chopped scallions

1 garlic clove, minced

2 eggs

1 small head Napa cabbage, shredded (about 4 cups) (or half a large head of green cabbage)

1 cup mung bean sprouts

1/2 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

2 limes, quartered.

Instructions:
1. Put noodles in a large bowl and add boiling water to cover. Let sit until noodles are just tender; check every 5 minutes or so to make sure they do not get too soft. Drain, drizzle with one tablespoon peanut oil to keep from sticking and set aside. Meanwhile, put tamarind paste, fish sauce, honey and vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and bring just to a simmer. Stir in red pepper flakes and set aside.
2. Season chicken with Thai Spice Blend. Put remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; when oil shimmers, add the chicken and cook over medium high heat until no longer pink in the center.  Remove the chicken to a plate, but leave the oil in the pan.
3. Add scallions and garlic to the pan and cook for about a minute. Add eggs to pan; once they begin to set, scramble them until just done. Add cabbage and bean sprouts and continue to cook until cabbage begins to wilt, then add the chicken and any juices on the plate.
4. Add drained noodles to pan along with sauce. Toss everything together to coat with tamarind sauce and combine well. When noodles are warmed through, serve, sprinkling each dish with peanuts and garnishing with lime wedges.