Thai Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup

By nancytripp

Ingredients

• Any seafood will do and chicken can be substituted
• 1 pound medium size shrimps
• One dozen mushrooms
• One stalk of lemon grass
• 4 cups water
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 3 lime leaves
• 6 green peppercorns
• 3 slices fresh ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 T fish sauce (or 4 T soy sauce)
• 3 T lime juice
• 6 hot peppers, pounded lightly
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

Remove shrimp shell, leave tails.
Cut open the back of each shrimp to remove veins. Clean mushrooms w/ water and dry them well before cutting each into quarters.
Trim root and tough layers from lemon grass.
Thinly slice first six inches.
Bring 2 cups stock to boil
Bring 4 cups of water to boil, then add the stock, lemon grass, lime leaves, and shrimps.
When the shrimps turn pink, add mushrooms, ginger, peppercorns and salt.
Remove the pot from heat after boiling.
Add fish sauce, line juice, and hot peppers to taste.

Serve soup while still hot, sprinkle each cup with cilantro.