Unconventional Tom Yum

Husband and I have been detoxing since the 4th of January. There was so much excess throughout the holiday season that we felt like we must. The difficult thing about this was not just that we couldn't enjoy the warm hearty meals that go perfectly with the subzero temperatures but also the fact that there wasn't much to do in the kitchen. We both realised how much our lives revolve around shopping for food, preparing food and best of all, eating food. This is probably the reason why I am posting about this relatively unspectacular meal. It was spectacular to me becase it was just nice to have something cooking on the stove again. After 10 days of disciplined eating, I am happy to report that we can fit comfortably into our jeans again! Not only that but our detox period is officially over and we are easing ourselves back onto a normal diet.

To celebrate our success, Husband requested my version of tom yum soup. This is not at all a traditional tom yum soup. I just use the tom yum flavour for the soup and add whatever I think fits. My method springs from the same philosophy as Nigella Express (a Nigella cookbook that is dedicated to quick, uncomplicated meals. She even has a recipe for potato cakes that uses packaged, instant mashed potato. Yikes!). I don't make the soup from scratch but am always sure to have some bought tom yum paste in the fridge. Try any one in your Asian grocer or supermarket but preferably one without flavour enhancers.

Follow the instructions on the container and before you know it you will have a delicious soup boiling on your stove. Taste it to see if the flavour suits you, add more paste if you can handle more of a punch. While the soup is coming to a boil, I usually chop up my veggies. I like to add brocoli, mushrooms and carrots but anything goes really. This time, after our recent visit to Chinatown in London, I had some fish balls (that is really what they are called) and fried tofu in the freezer, so I added those too. If you have some shelled, cleaned prawns in the freezer (always a good idea), you could add those. Tonight, I threw in some rice noodles after everything had been boiling for a few minutes. Once the carrots are done and your noodles are soft, you are ready to eat.

Here it is boiling away on my stove, those puffy things are fried tofu


You can see what I mean by fishballs here


If you are in Sydney and in the mood for tom yum soup, a more traditional version that is, try any of the ones on the menu at Spice I Am in Surry Hills. You can have a look at their menu here spiceiam.com It is the most memorable tom yum I have eaten.