Ingredients

• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 2 stalks lemongrass, 1 inch segments, bruised
• 5 kaffir lime leaves, torn
• 3 slices galangal
• ½ – 1 cup button mushrooms, quartered
• 6 Thai chili peppers, bruised
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 medium tomato, sliced
• ½ onion, sliced
• 4 TBSP fish sauce
• 2 TBSP prik pao, roasted chili in oil
• Cilantro, garnish

Method

1. In medium saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Once boiling, add lemongrass, lime leaves, galangal, and chilies and boil for 5 minutes.
2. Add mushrooms, onion, lime juice, and fish sauce and boil for another five minutes.
3. Add tomatoes and boil 1-2 minutes until soft, then add prik pao.
4. Season to taste and remove from heat. Serve with cilantro as garnish.

Notes:

• Lemon grass: Do not use powdered lemon grass for soups! It will not give you the correct taste. You can use fresh lemon grass or you can use dried, but try to stay away from the powdered. It won’t taste terrible, it just won’t taste that great either.
• Chilies: If you are using fresh chilies, you want to bruise them, which means placing the flat end of your knife on top of the chili and pushing down. This will cause the chili to pop and allow some of the juices and seeds to escape, which will add heat to your dish. If you are using dried chilies, you should crush them a little so the insides are open to the broth for the same effect.

Final Thoughts

• Eat this. It’s good.
• Do not forget the prik pao at the end. That’s what gives it the red oily stuff on the top and that’s what makes this recipe so awesome, at least for me!