Thai Trinity Soup

Thai Trinity - Chili, Citrus and Fish Sauce

There are three flavors ever present in a Thai recipe, and they would be some form of citrus (lime, lime kaffir leaves or lemon grass), fish sauce and hot chilies of some kind. Their presence in this soup gives it a flavor reminiscent of the Thai soups I’ve had. Cook this soup on a low heat, as not to boil and overcook some of the more delicate ingredients in it.

5    cups of chicken broth

2    Tbl fish sauce
3    lime kaffir leaves

6    1-inch pieces of lemon grass (use base)

1    serrano chili pepper finely chopped

1    juice from one Lime

2    small heads of bok choy (chop root end in ¼ inch  
      chunks and leaf end in larger chunks)

½   peeled Asian cucumber (cut in ¼ inch discs – then
      cut discs into quarters)

2    tomatoes med tomatoes (chop 1 tomato in large
      chunks and save 1 for garnish)

½  pound peeled  deveined shrimp (med size-30 to 40 count)

Place chicken broth, lime kaffir leaves, serrano pepper, fish sauce and lemon grass in pan, bring up to heat and cook on low heat for 30 minutes.

Add the lime juice, mushrooms and cook for 15 minutes.

Add bok choy, Asian cucumber, shrimp and 1 tomato chopped in large chunks. Cook for 15 minutes (low heat). Reserve one tomato.

While this soup has cooked tomatoes in it, I also like to add fresh tomatoes, so when you serve this, add fresh tomato wedges as an edible garnish. Remove lemon grass and lime kaffir leaves before eating.

Lemon Grass

Bok Choy

Lime Kaffir Leaves