Are you thinking of a January reboot? Now is a perfect time for this satisfying soup. It’s cold outside and also an ideal time to lighten up our meals following weeks of power-eating over the holidays.
Like many Asian soups, this one comes together quickly (as far as typical soups go), less than one hour from start to table. The recipe is highly adaptable to suit your tastes and what you have on hand.
Once you have prepared the broth the way you like it, the other ingredients can be as few or many as you like. The classic Thai profile of chile heat, salty, sour, and sweet are all here.
A word of caution: take care to not overcook the fish. A few minutes in the low-simmering broth is all the cooking it needs. A few minutes of attention here will result in tender, succulent stars of this soup.
Thai-Style Seafood Soup
4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 quart (4 cups) low-sodium chicken broth
- 8 ounces (1 cup) clam juice
- 1 stalk lemongrass, using about 5” of the root end
- 1-inch knob fresh ginger root
- 1 bulb fresh scallion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 6 – 8 sprigs cilantro, stems and leaves
- 2 small tomatoes, diced, divided
- 1 – 2 jalapeño or serrano chiles, to taste
- 8 – 10 fresh shitake mushrooms, sliced into 1/ 4” slices
- 1 – 3 teaspoons Thai fish sauce, to taste (I use Red Boat brand that is highly concentrated)
- 12 ounces firm white fish fillets, such as cod or halibut; cut into 1” cubes
- 4 ounces large shrimp, shell on, about 5 or 6
- 2 bunches baby bok choy, sliced crosswise in 1” widths
- Juice of 1 large lime, plus additional lime wedges to taste
- Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Smash each of the lemongrass stalk, ginger, scallion and garlic with the dull edge of a large knife. Smashing, or bruising, each piece helps release their flavor.
- Remove and reserve the shells from the shrimp. Rinse and devein the shrimp and set the shrimp meat aside in the refrigerator until needed.
- Combine the cilantro stems and leaves, lemongrass, ginger, scallion, garlic, one-half of the diced tomatoes, 1/ 2 to a whole jalapeño (seeds removed), and shrimp shells into a large saucepan. Add the chicken broth, clam juice and 1 – 2 teaspoons of the fish sauce. You can add more fish sauce to taste before serving. If you use a brand other than Red Boat, you will likely want more.
- Bring the broth ingredients to a boil over medium-high heat, then simmer on lowest heat setting for about 30 minutes. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl. Discard the solids, then return the broth to the saucepan.
- Bring the broth to a simmer. Add the remaining tomatoes to the broth, any additional chile pepper, and sliced mushrooms. When the broth has returned to a simmer, add the fish and shrimp.
- Just before the seafood have just about cooked through, about 3 – 4 minutes, add the bok choy and simmer another minute or two until the bok choy is cooked tender-crisp. Lastly, add the freshly squeezed lime juice.
- Serve with additional fresh cilantro leaves, sliced jalapeño peppers, and lime wedges to taste.
Note: For faster preparation, substitute the shrimp and fish for a package of frozen mixed seafood. Trader Joe’s “Seafood Blend” is a convenient substitute. You won’t have shrimp shells to flavor the broth, so adjust seasonings further to your liking.
