Kaffir Lime Recipes
Canh Ngot Recipe (Vietnamese Fish Soup)
My friend Hoa is an expert when it comes to buying the freshest, most delicious ingredients. I've probably said it in the past but I only cook seafood according to what's available at the market. She told me about this wonderful seafood market on Tully road in San Jose, and boy, was she right! Today I found freshly caught cá hồng, which translates to "red snapper". I made cá nấu canh ngót, a Vietnamese popular fish soup made with Chinese celery.
The texture of the soup is similar to canh chua the difference being that lemon juice is squeezed right in before eating the soup and no lemon or sour ingredients are added to the broth while cooking. You'll be amazed at how simple and easy this seafood soup is to make. The key to success is really just fresh ingredients. That's it!
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Hot and Sour Thai Soup Recipe
Tom Yum Thai soup has a unique taste. It's both spicy and sour and loaded with amazing flavors such as lemongrass, galangal, fresh kaffir limes leaves and coconut milk. For this version, I combined fresh water chestnuts, sugar snap peas, tamarind, red chili powder, baby squid and mackerel. You could also add shrimp or chicken. And of course, the soup is easy to make vegetarian as well.
The warmth of the broth is very soothing. I usually serve this seafood soup with a bowl of steamed jasmine rice on the side, which makes a complete meal while still being pretty healthy (you could also omit the coconut milk if you're health conscious). Give this recipe a try; I promise you won't be disappointed!
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Canh Chua Tom Recipe (Vietnamese Shrimp Soup)
Canh chua tôm literally translates to "sour shrimp soup" in Vietnamese. The name and the flavor come from the combination of kaffir lime leaves, tamarind and pineapple. A hint of spiciness from Thai chiles makes the soup especially soothing. I've been a bit under the weather the past few days and the warm broth worked wonders on my congestion.
There are many variations of this seafood recipe. In this particular version, I mixed oyster mushrooms and fresh water chestnuts, which added crunch to the soup. I served it as a main course, so I added rice round noodles to make the meal complete. If you decide to serve it at an Asian-themed dinner, this canh (soup) is a light way to start a meal.
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