Sometimes I just don’t feel like fiddling around with fresh prawns and I never use stock cubes of any sort, so this is a quick and easy way to prepare a spicy and authentic Tom Yum from the store cupboard. The stock is surprisingly delicious; the dried shrimps add a fishiness to the stock.
Lazy Tom Yum Goong
Stock
1.5 litres water
1 tbsp dried shrimps
3 lime leaves, roughly torn
2 lemongrass stalks, crushed
2 slices galangal, bashed
2 bird’s eyes chillies, crushed
Coriander root, bashed
2 packs of seafood mix, fresh or frozen, or a mix of prawns, squid and fish
handful Chinese or ordinary celery
1 tbsp palm sugar
2 slices of galangal thinly sliced
3 lime leaves
Juice of 1½ limes
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 chillies, thinly sliced and deseeded
handful of shitake, enoki or small round Thai mushrooms (like champignons)
Handful of coriander or Thai basil leaves, torn, to serve
Put all the stock ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to the boil and simmer for 30 mins, with lid on. Strain into another saucepan.
Bring the strained stock to the boil. Once boiling, add the celery, palm sugar, fish sauce, galangal, lime leaves, chillies and mushrooms. When the mushrooms are cooked, add the seafood and lime juice. Simmer for a couple of minutes until seafood is cooked but not tough!
Ladle into bowls and add basil and/or coriander leaves.
healthy living with cancer 
Hi Vicky – sounds really delicious but wondering about some of the ingredients and how one can improvise?
Where do you get dried shrimps and lime leaves from?
What is ‘galangai’?
What can you substitute palm sugar with?
Thanks,
Nina x
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Check the glossary on the top tab for the ingredients…palm sugar you can substitute with caster sugar, galangal with ginger, but not quite as nice. What you need is a Thai or Chinese supermarket, try Chinatown next time you are in London, but I wouldnt be surprised if there isn’t one in your nearest town as the Thais are everywhere! Waitrose, Sainsburys and Morrisons sometimes have these fresh ingredients, sold as Tom Yum soup mix, os sold separately. Good luck!
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