Bowl of Thai Catfish Soup
(click to enlarge)

Catfish Soup


Thailand - Northeast   -   Tome Yum Plah Dook
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2 main
**
30 min
Most		 Northeast Thailand is an inland area, so freshwater fish are used. Easily farmed catfish is available everywhere, and its unique flavor marries well with Thai ingredients to produce this tasty soup.

6
1/3
2
2
5
3
2
2
4
few

oz
c

oz


T
T
c

Catfish (1)
Mushrooms (2)
Lemon Grass stalk (3)  
Cherry Tomatoes
Thai Chilis
Scallions
Fish Sauce (4)
Lime Juice fresh
Stock, Chicken (5)
Cilantro Leaves
Prep   -  (15 min)
  1. Cut CATFISH into bite size pieces, slice MUSHROOMS thin, mix.
  2. Peel off tough outer leaves of LEMON GRASS, cut off the hard root end and strike the bottom 5 inches lightly with the smooth side of your kitchen mallet to crack it, but not hard enough so it falls apart. Cut the bottom 5 inches into lengths that will fit in your pot.
  3. Cut TOMATOES in half crosswise. Stem CHILIS and crush them lightly to break them open, mix.
  4. Cut SCALLIONS into 1" lengths, white and green.
  5. Mix together Fish Sauce and Lime Juice.
Run   -   (15 min)
  1. In your soup pot, combine Stock and Lemon Grass. Bringto a simmer and simmer for about 5 minutes.
  2. Remove lemon grass and stir in Catfish mix and simmer just a few minutes until catfish is cooked through.
  3. Stir Tomato mix and simmer just a minute or so.
  4. Stir in the Scallions. turn off heat and stir in Fish Sauce mix. Serve hot garnished with Cilantro Leaves
NOTES:

  1. Catfish:

      Of course, Pangasius catfish (Basa, Swai, Tra, Vietnamese) would be the natural one to use, and frozen fillets of these are very popular now in North America. The the more earthy flavored American Channel Catfish will work fine too. For details see our Catfish page.

  2. Mushrooms:

      I use fresh Shitake mushrooms, but straw mushrooms or even white button mushrooms are fine too.

  3. Lemon Grass:

      These tough grass stems are now widely available in North America in markets that serve an East or Southeast Asian community. I've even seen them in some Korean markets. For details see our Lemon Grass page.

  4. Fish Sauce:

      This clear liquid is as essential to Southeast Asian cuisine as it was to Imperial Rome. If you are unfamiliar with it, see our Fish Sauce - Introduction page.

  5. Stock:

    The pattern recipe calls for Chicken stock, but Pork or even a light Beef stock could be used.
  6. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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