Sour and Spicy Shrimp Soup, 6/01

[emilycat]

OMG, is this good. The broth is so flavorful, sour and spicy, just as the recipe name indicates. I did use a bit less peppers than the recipe called for, because I'm not too keen on especially fiery dishes, but probably a bit more fish sauce than called for -- I kind of third/halved the recipe with various ingredients, so I'm not really sure of the exact measurements I used http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif
I served it with quinoa and stir-fried shiitakes and bok choy; very yummy dinner.

[Julia1Pin]

thanks for the review. It was the ifrst recipe that really caught my eye in the June issue. Hopefully, I'll make it this weekend.

[karen w]

I'm allergic to shrimp. Do you think there is anything that could take the place of shrimp in this soup, or is this one going to have to go on the "no-no" list because there is no good sub???

[emilycat]

Karen,

I think scallops, mussels or clams would work just as well -- are any of those feasible for you?

[Tina_B]

I often order Thai Hot and Sour Soup with chicken from my favourite Asian Restaurant. This would probably work too.

[TheresaM]

Emily, did this recipe take alot of time. I had a friend pickup the lemongrass in Chinatown and I was planning on making this tommorrow night. Did you use fresh hot peppers, dried hot peppers or bottled hot sauce ? I also thought that chicken would work in this recipe.

[emilycat]

Theresa,

I wouldn't say it was very time consuming -- maybe an hour, start to finish. I used dried arbol chiles and fresh serranos.
The only problem I can see with not using shrimp is that the shells are used to flavor the broth -- without them, it's going to lose a little bit of its character.

[Julia1Pin]

From my experience all dishes work as well with frozen shrimp. By the way, Trader Joes is selling un-peeled deviened jumbo shrimp for $7.99/lb. That's almost half price.

[karen w]

Thanks emilycat,

I think I'll try it with the scallops...but don't ask me how to pronounce the word, O.K.!!

[Jessica]

Do you think it would work with frozen shrimp? Fresh ones are very pricey here.

[Peggy]

We made this recipe last night at my Cl Supper Club and everyone thought it was outstanding! I was facinated by all of the ingredients in the broth, and the resultant flavor was excellent. We halved the arbol and serrano chile amounts because we were alittle nervous about it being too spicy. This was a good choice because we all agreed that any additional chiles would have made it too hot for our tastes. I will make this recipe again and again!

Peggy

[Julia1Pin]

I made this recipe today, and my whole family raved about it. the chile amounts were perfect, IMHO. I made it with 1lb. of large shrimp (un-peeled, deveined). I also only had 2 cans of chicken broth, so I substituted the last one for a vegetable broth.

On question - I only got 5 servings out of the dish. Has anyone else noticed the discepancy in serving size?

[jd]

Thanks for the review Emily! What is Thai fish sauce - is that what I look for, or can something else be substituted? Also, where did you find the chiles (produce, cans, deli)? Can't wait to try this one! TIA

[Julia1Pin]

JD-

I'm not Emily, but I'll take a stab at answering your questions:

Thai Fish Sauce is like Oyster sauce, but a lot thinner in constistnecy. It looks like sesame oil. I bought mine at Whole Foods (gourmet market).

The chiles were found at a regular supermarket. The serrano's were dried, and the others (am not next to my magazine) were fresh. Just look for the ethnic section at your neighborhood supermarket.

[Peggy]

jd - In response to the chile question: We used fresh serrano chiles and dried arbol chiles. I don't think anyone in our cooking group could have eaten it with the full amount of chiles. Granted, none of us like SUPER spicy recipes. However, unless you like VERY hot foods, I would caution you about the amount of chiles in the recipe. Just a humble group opinion!

Peggy

[jd]

Thanks for the review Emily! What is Thai fish sauce - is that what I look for, or can something else be substituted? Also, where did you find the chiles (produce, cans, deli)? Can't wait to try this one! TIA

[emilycat]

Hey, jd!

Julia's description of fish sauce is what you should be looking for -- it's an extract made from anchovies, and it does look like sesame oil. However, the taste is incomparable; (I actually think it smells a bit like very pungent Gruyere cheese) and you really can't adequately substitute anything for it. Any well-stocked grocery store should keep it with the other Asian condiments. Also, I did the same thing Peggy did with the chiles -- dried Arbols and fresh Serranos -- I got them at Harry's, but I'm sure you could find them at a Whole Foods as well, and maybe at a good "regular" store.
This is an excellent dish; I hope you try it! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[jd]

Thanks for your responses, Julia1Pin, Peggy and Emily. I'm off to the market tomorrow! (not sure how I was able to double post 11 hours apart!?).