Thai Coconut Lemongrass Shrimp Soup
You’d expect to find Lemongrass in Asian food markets but, to my surprise, I had stumbled upon it at Ralphs in Los Angeles. Since I had a few mushrooms in my fridge and shrimps in my freezer, I decided to make this soup (Tom Kha Goong) for tonight’s Ramadan iftar. I’ve always loved the flavor of lemongrass but had only cooked with it once before and forgot how to prepare it. After researching online, it turned out to be not that complicated and very much like how you would prepare leeks. See below for the preparation method. This was a really easy soup to make and I used 1/3 of the coconut milk than in most other recipes so it turned out being healthier than the restaurant version.
Thai Coconut Lemongrass Shrimp Soup
Makes: 8 servings
Calories: About 100 in 1 cup
Time: 45 mins
INGREDIENTS
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 Tbs. grated fresh ginger
1 stalk lemongrass, dry tops and root cut off, peeled to inner layers, and minced
1 tsp. curry powder
1 Tbs. tomato paste
4 cups chicken broth
3 Tbs. fish sauce
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk
1/2 lb. (1 small package) brown mushrooms, sliced 1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Tbs. lime juice
1 stalk green onion, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
METHOD
Step 1
In a large soup pot, sauté the ginger and lemongrass in oil. Add tomato paste and curry powder and sauté for a minute or 2 more.
Step 2
Slowly pour the chicken broth in the pot, stirring to make sure the previous mixture doesn’t stick. Stir in the fish sauce and brown sugar and simmer for 10 mins.
Step 3
Stir in the coconut milk and cook for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes until the mushrooms are soft. Add the shrimp and cook until just pink, about 5 minutes.
Step 4
Take off heat and add the lime juice. Garnish with cilantro and green onion and enjoy.
How to Prepare Lemongrass
Rinse your lemongrass stalk under cold water. Cut the woody tops (about 3 inches from the top) and reserve for tea. Chop the bottom white root up until just where the white and green start to mix — about 3 inches from the bottom. Now, remove the first 2-3 layers of the stalk until you reach a pliable inner core. Chop this core into small pieces and use as called for in the recipe. Other ways to use lemongrass are in herbal tea, marinades, spice rubs, and salads. The root end can be used in soups & stocks and the tops can be dried and reserved in an air tight container for teas and spice rubs. If you’re going to use fresh lemongrass tops in your tea, make sure you macerate them a little to release some of the oils. Macerated lemongrass can also be placed in sugar for an aromatic sugar topping for cookies & cupcakes or, for an all-natural lemony hand scrub. So many uses!
Source: https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-lemongrass-765171
