← Nouns Cooking · Thai

Ingredients

• 700 g pork spare ribs, cut into short pieces
• 1.5 l Water
• 2 Lemongrass, bruised and cut into lengths
• 5 slices Galangal
• 5 Makrut (kaffir) lime leaves, torn
• 4 Shallot, smashed
• 2½ tbsp Fish sauce
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp toasted dried chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp toasted rice powder (khao khua)
• 3 Bird's eye chilli, bruised (optional)
• 4 Culantro (sawtooth coriander, pak chee farang), sliced (optional)
• 2 tbsp Coriander (cilantro), chopped
• 2 Spring onion, sliced

Method

1. Cover the ribs with cold water, bring to the boil for 3 min, then drain and rinse. This keeps the broth clear.
2. Return the ribs to the pot with the 1.5 litres of water, bring to a gentle simmer and cook, partly covered, for 1 hour, skimming now and then.
3. Add the lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves and shallots and simmer for 20–30 min more, until the meat pulls easily from the bone.
4. Season with fish sauce and turn off the heat. Stir in the lime juice, chilli flakes and toasted rice; lime added off the heat stays fresh and bright.
5. Taste: it should be sour and fiery first, then salty. Add the fresh chillies, culantro, coriander and spring onions and serve with sticky rice.

Tips

• Unlike tom yum, this soup has no chilli paste or coconut milk; the heat comes from dried chilli and the body from toasted rice.
• Bone-in chicken pieces make a quicker version; simmer them for 30 min.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Portail Asie Simply Suwanee