From The Elephant Walk Cookbook (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998)
Sour
Soup with Tomato and Lotus
Saik Chrouk Ch'ranouitk
.... Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 stalks lemongrass, bulbs only, smashed *
- 1/4 cup fish sauce*
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons peeled, coarsely chopped galangal root*
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 pineapple, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick and
julienned
- 1/4 pound lotus roots, cut into 2-inch lengths*
- 1 medium tomato, cut into wedges
- 3/4 pound catfish filets, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 cup tamarind juice
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 10 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh ma'am, cilantro or mint
- 1 large egg
- Bird's eye chilies, thinly sliced*
*Available in Oriental markets
Put the chicken broth in a large stockpot and add the lemongrass,
fish sauce, sugar, galangal and salt. Bring to a boil.
Add the pineapple, lotus roots and tomato and return to
a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the vegetables
are soft, about 10 minutes. Gently stir in the catfish and
tamarind juice and cook for another 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small pan over medium-high
heat and fry the garlic until brown but not burned, 20 to
30 seconds; set aside.
When the fish is cooked, add the garlic, basil, and ma'am,
cilantro or mint. Turn off the heat and add the egg, stirring
it as it cooks. Serve the soup piping hot with sliced bird's
eye chilies.
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