When a sudden urge for Thai food strikes, I never have all the ingredients on hand. Today I had enough for a try, and the result was pretty good, if not pretty-pretty.

Soup

Soup (serves 1 glutton or 4 polite folk)

  • Put into a 5-cup or larger appliance that slow cooks:
      1 lb. chicken tenders, cut in 1" pieces,
      2 small cans sliced mushrooms, drained,
      2-3 fresh shallots, peeled and quartered,
      3 cups water,
      1/2 cup marble-sized potatoes, and
      2 tablespoons tom yum paste.
  • Slow cook (185-190°F) for 60-90 minutes.
  • Stir in:
      1/2 can of coconut milk
      2 frozen kaffir lime leaves, cut into very thin strips, and
      up to 1 tablespoon palm sugar (to taste).
  • Simmer for another 30 minutes.
  • Salt liberally to taste.

Notes:  
  If you have fresh cilantro, chop and add a small handful right before serving. 
  Use whole straw mushrooms instead of button mushrooms, if you have them.
  Boneless breast might do, but my Costco chicken tenders were very tender.
  I’ll leave out the potatoes next time. They didn’t help any.
  Regular or light brown sugar is fine.
  If you want it spicy-hotter, add Vietnamese or Thai chili paste or crushed red peppers. 
  There’s no good substitute for fresh shallots. Onion might do; avoid boxed shallots.
  Don’t use dried kaffir lime leaves, only fresh or frozen, or substitute half a lime’s juice.
  For a low-fat version, leave out the coconut milk and use broth for half the water.
  If you don’t have a slow-cooking appliance, use the stove, but avoid boiling the soup.

Maybe I got lucky with this tom yum paste.

TomYumPaste2TomYumPaste