'Thailand's soup' That still stirs up the tastebuds
The shrimp variety is world famous but at home myriad versions of tom yum exist that are simple to prepare and nonetheless just as delicious and nutritious
One Thai soup that has gained worldwide popularity is tom yum gung because of its delectable combination of flavours and aromas. There is the fragrance of herbs, fresh lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal, the sour tang of lime juice, saltiness from nam pla, the spicy heat of chillies and the taste and texture of fresh shrimp. But just as interesting as the list of ingredients that go into the soup is the surprising simplicity of preparing it. A first-class tom yum can be cooked in five minutes.
IN THE LIMELIGHT: Tom yum gung.Tom yum gung is one of a group of tom yum dishes that date far back into the past and have their basis in traditional Thai lifestyles. In earlier times there were no elaborate procedures used in preparing food. Cooks just took ingredients that were close at hand and used them in a way that took little time, and the results were both delicious and high in nutritional value.
There is no rule stating that only shrimp can be used to make tom yum. All kinds of alternatives can be used, which is why variants to the recipe are always being introduced.
IN THE SHADOW: Tom yum pla.Thai culture has traditionally been strongly centred around water. People made their homes on the banks of rivers or canals that were sometimes so full that they flooded and at other times so dry it was possible to walk across them. Most households had a pier in front, usually a simple wooden platform where people could sit to bathe, wash clothes or equipment, and tie up a boat. It could be raised or lowered depending on the amount of water in the river or canal, and edible water plants like pak boong or pak krachate could be grown next to it.
Fish could be caught in these clusters of plants, which made good homes for fish and shrimp. Almost any kind of fish that was caught could be eaten. Two types of catfish, known as pla kot and pla thaypho in Thai, could be cooked as a chuchee dish, with a thick curried coconut cream sauce using fruit from a nearby tree. A pla chon (snakehead fish) would be prepared as a tom yum using herbs from the kitchen garden. If more fish were caught than could be eaten at a single meal they could be salted and dried for later use.
Pla chon is an extremely popular fish. It can be made into a tom yum with coconut cream, a dish that's called tom kha pla chon.
Nowadays Thais think of tom kha as a chicken soup, but it was originally made with pla chon. It is made with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal just like tom yum, but more of the galangal is used. When the coconut cream-enriched broth and the herbs reach a boil the fish is added, and when that has cooked lime juice, nam pla and prik khee nu (ultra-spicy bird chillies) are put in. The result is a tom kha pla that tastes like a tom yum.
In some households if the tom yum is being made when a banana tree in coming into flower, the blossom will be sliced into thin strips and added to the soup. This is a dish that villagers of the past knew well and called tom yum pla sai hua plee.
Some of the plants in kitchen gardens are seasonal. Limes, for example, are used all the time in Thai kitchens, but during the dry season the trees bear few of them and the ones that are produced are small and don't have much juice. This isn't a problem, though, because there is a substitute. When tom yum pla chon is made during a time when limes are scarce, once the lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves and lightly pounded shallots have been added to the soup, sour tamarind fruit are put in whole. There is no need to extract the juice because the boiling soup will draw out the sourness. If there are not many fresh chillies in the garden, dried ones can be torn up and added instead, before the nam pla and the aromatic herb called pak chee farang go into the pot.
Besides the tamarind, there is another sour ingredient that can be used to make tom yum when limes are scarce. The sour shoots of the tamarind tree give the soup a tang that is different from that of either lime or tamarind, and the taste is even better when dried fish is used. These can be pla chon, the smaller pla salit, or almost any kind of fish. The fish has to be grilled first, and the shallots, dried chillies, galangal and lemongrass are also often burned on the fire and pounded, too. Then the kaffir lime leaves and pak chee farang are added. Simple, but delicious.
The tom yum made by fishermen who live near the sea is similar to freshwater varieties. Many types of fish can be used _ snapper, mackerel, squid or pla seekoon, for example. Some cooks add fresh basil to increase the heat. Sea fishing households also have substitutes for limes during their off-seasons. The shiny, sour, green fruits called madan can be substituted, or the flowers and leaves of the rosella plant, or even unripe mango.
These days tom yum is also made from the upper part of the pork leg, where it is thick and there is plenty of skin. It is more flavourful than the meat from other parts of the pig. The taste is pleasantly rich and full and the meat is not greasy or heavy.
Besides having a flavour that Thais love, tom yum also reflects the priorities of the traditional Thai lifestyle. It is easy to cook, nutritious and convenient to make in an amount that is just enough for a meal. Even though it has made its mark on the world in the popular shrimp version, a cook with imagination can create something just as tasty using any ingredient that sparks the creative urge.