Traveling through Time

Passport & Plate - Tom Yum Paste

Philippines | Wednesday, February 25, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
8 lemon grass stalks, white part only about 5 inches long each, minced
3 onion leeks stalks, white part only about 8 to 10 inches long, minced
8 kaffir lime leaves, dried or fresh, minced
3-4 fresh Thai chili peppers or to taste, minced

5 to 7 tablespoons of coconut oil
5 tomatoes, diced (about a cup)
5 shallots, minced
6 pieces of garlic, minced
4 tablespoons of grated fresh galangal (or if using dried, get about 3 to 4 pieces, soak in hot water, drain, then mince the galangal), if no access to galangal, replace with ginger
2 tablespoons of shrimp paste
about a cup of cillantro, minced

1 ½ cups of coconut cream
1 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
1 tablespoons of fish sauce
1 tablespoons of soy sauce
juice of 3 lemons, or about 6 tablespoons
4 tablespoons of sugar

 

How to prepare this recipe
Place the lemongrass, leeks, kaffir lime leaves, and chili pepper, and pound in a mortar and pestle until softened into a chunky paste. You may also opt for a food processor for this. Set aside.

In a medium-hot pan and add the coconut oil. Saute the tomatoes until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the shallots and mix thoroughly, and cook until translucent which will take about a minute or two. Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant but do not brown. Add in the galangal, and the shrimp paste and mix. Add in the chunky paste of lemongrass, leeks, kaffir lime leaves and chili pepper. Follow in the cilantro. Allow all of this to cook dow,n, around 15 minutes, over low fire.

Add the coconut milk, oyster sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, lemon juice, and sugar. Taste. Let it simmer for 45 minutes. Taste, and adjust seasoning and heat as preferred. There should be a balance of sweet, spicy, sour, and salty and the fragrance of all the herbs and spice. Use for tom yam, tom ka, addition to pad thai, or even as a sauce for fried food.

 

The story behind this recipe
Traveling for days, I was feeling a bit lonely. I was 2000 kilometers away from my family, my home. But as I shuffled along the bustling street of Khao San, my loneliness was replaced by excitement. I followed my teacher into a market, and the scents came bursting forth. A hint of chili in the air, woody galangal, tangy kaffir lime leaves, and citrusy lemongrass! Fragrant chilis, coconuts ready for grating, and colorful tropical fruits lined the market stalls. It was unmistakably Thailand! And today, I was going to learn to make my favorite dishes from a local chef.

Soon we were in my teacher’s kitchen, aprons slung around our necks and tied at our waists. All the ingredients are familiar, except for one. A small bowl of an oily, reddish-brown sauce. Tom yum paste, she said. I tried the paste on its own, a mixture of salty, sweet, sour, and spicy. I was curious and asked how it was made. She laughed and replied that it takes a long time, many ingredients, and will take another lesson altogether to learn. I felt like she was keeping it a secret! As the lesson went on, the tom yum paste went in the tom yum, tom ka and pad thai. The simple looking paste, it seemed, was the heart and depth of her dishes.

Soon after, I was home in Manila, and I wanted to recreate at home what I have learned in that Thai kitchen. I wanted my family to experience and taste what I did. That tom yum paste was key. Producing the same flavor seemed impossible. I only had a ramble of ingredients from different internet sources but I have the Thai cooking techniques my teacher taught me. I got excited at every pound of the pestle, at every slice of the sharp knife, every sizzle of pan. Tomatoes, shallots, garlic, adding each flavor layer by layer, and finally ending with the coconut milk. And as my mom put a spoonful of the final dish in her mouth, she uttered in surprise, “Wow. This tastes really good.” And I replied, “That is the taste of Thailand.”