My winter sauce is soup these days, and on such frigid days soup is the only sauce I need. Here are glimpses of the making of a Tom Yum soup, with a variation of chicken instead of the traditional prawns. (Prawns not being readily available in upstate New York’s tundra at the moment.) While substituting the chicken for the shellfish changes the flavors decidedly, the other ingredients remain true to the Tom Yum spirit, and its spicy origin.
Fresh ginger, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves, along with a hefty dose of chilis and chili sauce and chili oil add the requisite heat – and that’s precisely what this winter needs.
I made a batch for my parents to stave off the wintry weather and keep the cold at bay. It is said that this is one of those soups that aids any ailment. Not sure how true or scientific that is, but soup is good for the soul, especially if there’s chicken in it. Or noodles. Consider it my bastardization of the traditional Tom Yum soup.
This colander of udon noodles added some heft to the soup I had left, and made for a cozy dinner. A seven-minute egg never hurt any bowl of soup either.
