Tom som pa (sour fish soup) - contributed by Peter
This is a popular soup usually prepared using fresh-caught, local freshwater fish, however any firm-fleshed fish will do.
Ingredients: (feeds 6-8 people)
1. About one and a half pounds of fish fillets.
2. 4 cups of fish stock
3. 3 tablespoons of chopped garlic
4. 3 tablespoons of chopped shallots
5. 2 ounces of galangal, thinly sliced
6. 3 tablespoons of mixed red and green prik chi fa (birds eye chillies), thinly sliced
7. 5 stalks of lemon grass, cut into 2-inch lengths
8. A quarter of a cup of fish sauce
9. A quarter of a cup of tamarind juice, or lime juice
10. 1-2 tablespoons of palm sugar (to taste)
11. 2 cups of green cherry tomatoes
12. Cilantro
method:
• cut the fish into chunks or fillet it
• heat the stock to simmering point, and add all ingredients except the fish and return to low boil for about 15 minutes.
• add the fish and simmer until the fish is cooked through.
• sprinkle cilantro on the surface
serve
note: this dish can be eaten as a soup course, but soups are normally eaten with the other dishes of the dinner, rather than before them. Ladle the soup into individual small bowls from a large serving bowl in the centre of the table, from where you can help yourselves to more. It is best-served and prepared in a crockery hot-pot over coals. The lemon grass and galangal are not normally eaten.
