INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Description There is a show on Thai TV every week called "Yam Yai" in
which a distinguished food writer, who also edits the Shell Guide to
Thailand (an excellent source but unfortunately only available in
Thai), visits a different restaurant each week. The show specialises
in the small restaurant/food shop style of business that abounds in
Thailand, in which the owner is the chef, and the family help out.  The
show generally features a demonstration of the preparation of one  or
two of the business' signature dishes, though as no detailed  recipe is
provided it is often difficult to reproduce the dishes  shown. This
week the main dish prepared was tom yam pla (fish soup),  and I watched
as the chef, preparing a soup for one diner, placed two  handfuls of
chilli on the board, and chopped them, then after cooking  the soup
added a handful of dried chillies as garnish. I was still  gasping as
the presenter added some nam pla prik (chillies in fish  sauce) to make
the dish still hotter! The preparation also differed  from the norm of
today in that it didn't include any nam prik pao  (the roasted chillies
in bean oil that is often called tom yam  sauce). This in fact is the
traditional preparation of this soup, and  it is quick and easy to do.
It can be made (as on the TV show) with  fish, or as here with pork, or
indeed with most meats, poultry, or  vegetables. Note that I do
sincerely advice caution about the amount  of chilli in this recipe. It
is phet makh mah ("very hot") as the  Thais say, though this
preparation (as an accompaniment for a dinner  for 4 people) is not
quite as hot as that on the TV. The main reason  we made it with
'forest pig' was that a friend donated one to us  recently that had
been predating his sugar cane plantation... Method  Trim the fat from
the pork, and slice it into eighth inch thick slices  diagonally to the
grain of the meat, then cut the slices into bite  sized pieces. Crush
the garlic with the side of a cleaver, discard  loose pieces of skin,
and then chop coarsely. Crush the fresh  chillies with the side of a
cleaver, and coarsely chop. Slice the  mushrooms, and then bruise the
lemongrass with the cleaver and slice  it (either into 1" pieces if you
intend to discard it, or very thin  slices if you intend to eat it).
Place the meat in a saucepan or wok,  over medium heat, and briefly
stir fry, then add the stock and bring  to a simmer. Add the chopped
chillies and garlic, and simmer, covered  until the meat is tender. Add
the mushrooms and heat through for  about 1 minute. Serving & Storage
Transfer to a serving bowl, and add  the dried chillies. Garnish if
desired with basil, coriander/cilantro  and mint leaves. Serves 2 as a
soup course or 4 as an accompaniment  to a meal.  Colonel Ian F
Khuntilanont-Philpott Posted to EAT-L Digest 26 Feb 97  by Walt Gray
<waltgray@MNSINC.COM> on Feb 27, 1997.

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
----------------------------------------------
Calories: 437
Calories From Fat: 164
Total Fat: 18.4g
Cholesterol: 30.1mg
Sodium: 4593.7mg
Potassium: 1602.2mg
Carbohydrates: 50.9g
Fiber: 9.6g
Sugar: 14.5g
Protein: 24.4g