serves 2
My mother is the queen of doggie bags, so naturally, I’ve inherited some of the same urges. This is how I recently found myself staring into a partially consumed container of Thai takeout, wondering how I could metamorphose it into dinner.
Surprisingly, simmering that half quart of tom yum—the famous Thai hot-and-sour soup—with some plain white rice, leftover roast chicken, and a can of coconut milk made a sweet, sour, and very savory improvised stew. Of course the reason it was so easy was because the premade tom yum provided most of the complex flavor.
Wanting to re-create the dish, I turned to a simple tom yum recipe I found online. Unfortunately, it called for things far too exotic for my generally well-stocked greengrocer, including galangal and makrut lime. But with lemongrass in hand, I hoped substituting shallots, lime zest, and cilantro would create the aromatic Southeast Asian flavor I craved.
Once home, I made a quick broth, adding fish sauce for a salty depth and touches of brown sugar and rice vinegar. Then I threw in the fish, shrimp, and herbs, and let the flavors meld while the seafood cooked.
A few minutes later, my husband and I sat down to what turned out to be my favorite incarnation of my Thai-food experiments. Although it wasn’t authentic, my latest stew was profoundly flavored, with pungent notes of herbs, lime, and saline fish sauce, softened by the creamy coconut milk, supple seafood, and rice. And I didn’t even need leftovers as a head start.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 small garlic clove, minced
2½ cups chicken broth
1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk
1 lemongrass stalk, finely chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded, if desired, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce, such as nam pla or nuoc mam
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
Finely grated zest of 1 lime
¾ pound seafood, such as snapper or other firm fish (cut into 1½-inch chunks), peeled shrimp, and/or scallops, or a combination
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Freshly squeezed lime juice, to taste
Cooked rice, for serving (optional)
1. In a medium pot over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until the shallots are softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the broth, coconut milk, lemongrass, jalapeño, vinegar, fish sauce, brown sugar, salt, and lime zest. Simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the seafood and herbs. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and serve with rice, if desired. (Without rice, it’s more of a soup than a stew.)