Thai Seafood Soup with Coconut Milk (Tom Kha Talay)
My cooking plans frequently change at the last minute.
I decided to go to the international grocery store, Saturday afternoon, to pick up a few odds and ends for the Thai-inspired hot and sour soup that I was planning on making on Sunday, and ran across a bushel basket full of live blue crab. So I bought four of the fiesty guys gals, brought them home and proceeded to blanch them immediately to preserve their flavour before making the soup the next day.
I gave the crabs a refreshing cold bath while waiting for the water to boil
Live crabs ready for cooking - The tips of the front claws are red in females while they're blue in males. Mine were all females.
The crab were boiled until they floated to the top and then for an additional minute. Another indicator of gender is the 'apron' or tail flap, on the underside, which is broad in females.
For instructions on how to 'pick' the meat off a crab, go here. I'm going to save the shells for making seafood stock. There's not a lot of meat on these babies but how often do you get live blue crab to play with?
The two Thai soups I'm most familiar with are either clear (tom yum) or coconut milk based (tom kha). I decided to make the coconut milk version this time and use my precious home-made seafood stock as a base.
This soup recipe is very versatile so you can add, eliminate or substitute ingredients as you wish. I had a whole jalapeno pepper in my vegetable crisper, but no Thai chili sauce (sweet or spicy red or green), so I used half of the jalapeno and some Sriracha sauce. The same with the vegetables. Other options are suggested. And the amounts are up to you as well. Do you want to throw in some noodles? Feel free.
I had a lot of fun making this soup. I hope you do too.
Thai Blue Crab and Squid with Coconut Milk Soup
RECIPE EDITED: I want to get more Thai flavours in the stock so I'm editing the recipe to reflect a longer simmering time with the lemongrass etc. before adding the mushrooms and other ingredients.
Thai Blue Crab and Squid with Coconut Milk Soup - makes 6-7 cups
4 cups seafood* or chicken stock
1 can coconut milk
7 oz (200 gm) pineapple cut squid
3 oz (85 gm) cooked blue crab meat
1 tbsp lemongrass**, finely minced or shredded in a food processor (or 3 slices lemon)
2 keffir lime leaves** (or 1/2 tsp lime zest)
1 cup mushrooms***, sliced into planks then cut on diagonal to bite size
1 cup baby bok choy***, sliced in half then on the diagonal to bite size, add stems and tops separately
1 tsp galangal or fresh ginger, grated or finely minced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/2-1 whole jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
1/2-1 tsp Sriracha sauce or red or green Thai chili sauce
1 medium tomato, peeled, seeded and sliced into thin strips or 1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
juice of 1 lime (you may have to use 2 limes)
1 tsp sugar
Garnish
1/4 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped
* What I used
** Don't leave chunks of lemongrass in your soup. They're hard to digest so, either shred them finely with a food processor before adding, or use them to flavour the broth, before adding the rest of your ingredients, and then strain them out. A substitute for lemongrass if you can't get it is boiling 3 slices of lemon in the stock and then fishing them out before serving. The keffir lime leaves are used for flavour and would not be eaten by your guests. I prefer to use the lime zest for that reason.
*** Use whatever vegetables you like instead of the bok choy and mushrooms ie green beans, snow peas, snap peas, sliced red peppers, bamboo shoots
Veggies - baby bok choy and King oyster mushrooms
Mise en place - Prepping isn't a chore for me. I love seeing all my ingredients in their little bowls or plates ready for cooking
Pour stock plus lemongrass/lemon slices and lime leaves/lime zest in a deep soup pot over medium-high heat. If using fresh lemongrass, also add the upper stalk pieces for extra flavor. Bring to a boil.
Add garlic, galangal/ginger, jalapeno pepper and Sriracha. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 15-20 minutes. Fish out stems of lemongrass/lemon slices and lime leaves.
Add the mushrooms (if using), squid and tomato/paste plus baby bok choy stems (if using). Simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Pineapple cut squid and cooked crab meat - about 10 oz total, substitute whatever you like and increase the amount to 12-16 oz if you want a heartier soup
Reduce heat to medium-low and add the cooked crab meat, bok choy leaves, coconut milk, fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, and sugar. Stir well to combine and gently simmer until hot (do not boil at this point). Taste-test the soup for salt and spice, adding more fish sauce instead of salt, or more Sriracha as desired. If too sour, add more sugar. If too spicy for your taste or if you'd like it creamier, add more coconut milk. If too salty, add another squeeze of lime juice.
Serve in bowls with fresh coriander sprinkled over each serving.
NOTE: For extra flavour, you can also add some Thai chili sauce, either store-bought or the homemade version.
I decided to go to the international grocery store, Saturday afternoon, to pick up a few odds and ends for the Thai-inspired hot and sour soup that I was planning on making on Sunday, and ran across a bushel basket full of live blue crab. So I bought four of the fiesty guys gals, brought them home and proceeded to blanch them immediately to preserve their flavour before making the soup the next day.
I gave the crabs a refreshing cold bath while waiting for the water to boil
Live crabs ready for cooking - The tips of the front claws are red in females while they're blue in males. Mine were all females.
The crab were boiled until they floated to the top and then for an additional minute. Another indicator of gender is the 'apron' or tail flap, on the underside, which is broad in females.
For instructions on how to 'pick' the meat off a crab, go here. I'm going to save the shells for making seafood stock. There's not a lot of meat on these babies but how often do you get live blue crab to play with?
The two Thai soups I'm most familiar with are either clear (tom yum) or coconut milk based (tom kha). I decided to make the coconut milk version this time and use my precious home-made seafood stock as a base.
This soup recipe is very versatile so you can add, eliminate or substitute ingredients as you wish. I had a whole jalapeno pepper in my vegetable crisper, but no Thai chili sauce (sweet or spicy red or green), so I used half of the jalapeno and some Sriracha sauce. The same with the vegetables. Other options are suggested. And the amounts are up to you as well. Do you want to throw in some noodles? Feel free.
I had a lot of fun making this soup. I hope you do too.
Thai Blue Crab and Squid with Coconut Milk Soup
RECIPE EDITED: I want to get more Thai flavours in the stock so I'm editing the recipe to reflect a longer simmering time with the lemongrass etc. before adding the mushrooms and other ingredients.
Thai Blue Crab and Squid with Coconut Milk Soup - makes 6-7 cups
4 cups seafood* or chicken stock
1 can coconut milk
7 oz (200 gm) pineapple cut squid
3 oz (85 gm) cooked blue crab meat
1 tbsp lemongrass**, finely minced or shredded in a food processor (or 3 slices lemon)
2 keffir lime leaves** (or 1/2 tsp lime zest)
1 cup mushrooms***, sliced into planks then cut on diagonal to bite size
1 cup baby bok choy***, sliced in half then on the diagonal to bite size, add stems and tops separately
1 tsp galangal or fresh ginger, grated or finely minced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/2-1 whole jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
1/2-1 tsp Sriracha sauce or red or green Thai chili sauce
1 medium tomato, peeled, seeded and sliced into thin strips or 1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
juice of 1 lime (you may have to use 2 limes)
1 tsp sugar
Garnish
1/4 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped
* What I used
** Don't leave chunks of lemongrass in your soup. They're hard to digest so, either shred them finely with a food processor before adding, or use them to flavour the broth, before adding the rest of your ingredients, and then strain them out. A substitute for lemongrass if you can't get it is boiling 3 slices of lemon in the stock and then fishing them out before serving. The keffir lime leaves are used for flavour and would not be eaten by your guests. I prefer to use the lime zest for that reason.
*** Use whatever vegetables you like instead of the bok choy and mushrooms ie green beans, snow peas, snap peas, sliced red peppers, bamboo shoots
Veggies - baby bok choy and King oyster mushrooms
Mise en place - Prepping isn't a chore for me. I love seeing all my ingredients in their little bowls or plates ready for cooking
Pour stock plus lemongrass/lemon slices and lime leaves/lime zest in a deep soup pot over medium-high heat. If using fresh lemongrass, also add the upper stalk pieces for extra flavor. Bring to a boil.
Add garlic, galangal/ginger, jalapeno pepper and Sriracha. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 15-20 minutes. Fish out stems of lemongrass/lemon slices and lime leaves.
Add the mushrooms (if using), squid and tomato/paste plus baby bok choy stems (if using). Simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Pineapple cut squid and cooked crab meat - about 10 oz total, substitute whatever you like and increase the amount to 12-16 oz if you want a heartier soup
Reduce heat to medium-low and add the cooked crab meat, bok choy leaves, coconut milk, fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, and sugar. Stir well to combine and gently simmer until hot (do not boil at this point). Taste-test the soup for salt and spice, adding more fish sauce instead of salt, or more Sriracha as desired. If too sour, add more sugar. If too spicy for your taste or if you'd like it creamier, add more coconut milk. If too salty, add another squeeze of lime juice.
Serve in bowls with fresh coriander sprinkled over each serving.
NOTE: For extra flavour, you can also add some Thai chili sauce, either store-bought or the homemade version.