Seafood Tom Yam Soup

Simply difficult to get  the type of tom yam soup that can appease my taste buds. Just like my childhood story of 'Goldilocks And The Three Bears', I found  that some were too sour, too thick, too stingy on ingredients, too watery, too hot......me being too choosy. Well, different people have different liking for stuffs. More over, I couldn't seem to get the authentic type that I had tasted in Thailand over here, even in highly rated Thai restaurants. Just didn't taste that good and not having a certain type of ummph ! Anything to do with the 'lack of feel' due to not being in Thailand ? So, the best thing to do is cook this soup for myself and of course to the preferred version for my whole family although still not as good as the type in Thailand. I just plus and minus the ingredients (easily available in Malaysia) according to my liking. Other than that, it's very much cheaper, easy to cook and make it as big pot as I like. Cooking is like doing experiment in the kitchen.

Ingredients (plus or minus to your liking)


(A)
200 g of : 1)big prawns  2) squids 3) abalone mushrooms 4) button mushrooms 5) fishballs
150 g mint leaves    1 bowl fried onions
1 tbsp toasted sole fish powder (if any-optional)


(B)
2 stalks torch ginger
3 stalks lemongrass
3 slices galangal
10-15 kaffir lime leaves
3-4 stalks polygonum leaves
some Thai basil leaves (Ocimum)
3-4 Chinese parsley roots
5-10 red chillies


(C)
Tom Yam paste ( add according to taste or your brand of Tom Yam paste)
10 tomatoes (cut or smash)
5-10 bid's eye chilies (for that special 'ummph')
2 anchovy cubes ( if any)
tamarind juice or calamansi lime juice which I prefer (to taste)
fish sauce, salt and sugar (to taste)
3 l water


a) Stir fry (B) to add the aroma. If lazy, then omit this step for healthier version.
b) Pour in water, boil and add in (C). Bring to boil and then lower the fire/heat. Boil for half  to an hour.
c) Sieve soup to another pot (optional- to sieve out chilies, tomatoes and other residue). Boil and add in (A).
    When done, garnish with parsley and serve hot.

***Note :( If lazy... just throw B & C in a pot, boil and put in A)

Prescription : DIY as a way of life.