This morning I got up very early to meet up with a professional acquaintance.  We talked for a few hours, and then I went over to Stephs and we headed to the farmer’s market on Cal. Ave.  We got stuff to make Tom Yom for her parents this evening.

IMG_0859  It is rare that I see the sunrise.

For anyone who wants to know the recipe it is here, below (1 person’s worth):

  1. Put 1 cup water and 1 cup broth into a pot and start it to boil.  This could also be done as 1.75 cups water and 0.25 cups stock.  This is done to taste and more broth/stock can be added later, but some should be added here for flavoring the other ingredients.
  2. If adding potatoes chop the potatoes and add them to the pot.
  3. Chop 1 stalk of lemongrass, only taking the bottom 1/3 of the stalk.  Cut into pieces that maximize surface area, while still able to be kept in a cheesecloth bag.
  4. Chop 1 egg size piece of ginger like the lemon grass.
  5. Tear 3 sets of kaffir lime leaves from their stems
  6. Smash Thai chilis (or other chili peppers) for spiciness.  For normal spiciness use 3 Thai chilis.  Smash by putting them under the flat of a knife and pressing hard on the other side, until the chili splits.
  7. Put chilis, ginger, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves in a cheesecloth bag, then add them to the pot.  These can be added before the pot comes to a boil.
  8. Chop 1 tomato into smaller than bit sized pieces.
  9. Chop 1/2 onion into nickle sized pieces.
  10. Chop meaty things:
    1. The meaty things that we found to work are mushrooms of any type, tofu, chicken, shrimp, full garlic cloves, and potatoes (added earlier for longer cooking – Step 2)
    2. The things we found to not work are sweet things like carrots and sweet potato
  11. When you can smell the spices in the steam add the meaty things plus tomato and onion, and squeeze in 1 lime.
  12. Allow the contents to return to boil for 3 to 5 minutes.  Make sure the potato is fully cooked through.  The only thing to really worry about overcooking here is the mushroom, the rest will tend to get better the longer it is cooked.
  13. Remove from heat
  14. Add 1 tablespoon of fish sauce
  15. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar
  16. Add 1 tablespoon of chili paste
  17. Stir and add more of the items in 14-16 to taste, plus more stock/broth if desired
  18. Add chopped spring onion and coriander/cilantro leaves right before serving.