Tom Yam Khung Gai - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 liter tom yam stock (see below)
10 prik kee noo green chilies, slotted
2 stalks lemongrass, sliced
6 slices galangal
4 kaffir lime leaves, torn
10 small onions, whole or 10 small shallots
4 coriander, roots crushed
250 g chicken breasts, cubed (20mm)
100 g button mushrooms, halved
50 g shiitake mushrooms, chopped
3 firm tomatoes, quartered
1 teaspoon chili paste (see below)
2 limes, juice of
1 tablespoon fish sauce
10 freshwater prawns, peeled and deviened
2 fresh red chilies, sliced
2 tablespoons fresh coriander, leaf chopped
2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

Preparation

Boil the tom yam stock over a medium high heat. Add the green chilies, lemon grass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, small onions and coriander root. Bring back to the boil and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the chicken breast pieces and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Add the button and shitake mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Add the chili paste and cook for a further 2 minutes. Then add the lime juice, fish sauce and prawns and cook for 2 minutes or until the prawns are cooked.
Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped coriander and Thai parsley leaf. Garnish with the sliced red chili.
Serve immediately.
(For the chilli paste blend together 2 tsp dried shrimp; 2 tsp vegetable oil; 2 tsp chili powder; 1 tsp onion, finely chopped; 1 tsp garlic, finely chopped; 1 tsp tamarind juice; 1 tsp sugar; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp shrimp paste.).
(Tom yam stock: Boil the discarded prawn shells and heads in a litre of water with a pinch of salt and 3 sliced red chilies, for about 30 minutes. Sieve the liquid.).