antipinkkitten Last Recipe of Southeastern Asia
It’s Sunday again, so we are at it again. This time, we’ve moved on to Thailand to make a Post-Neolithic Version of a Tom Kha Soup. Tom Kha soup is a variation of Tom Yum, where coconut milk is added. But, before we get into the history, let’s talk about what the Post Neolithic is, and what timeline are we talking about.
Post Neolithic?
As you may have heard in our recent podcast episode, Southeastern Asia transitioned from the Neolithic to the Post Neolithic over a a 1500 year period. This relatively short time of history allowed for massive trade and exchange of cultures throughout the islands that make up this region, along with interactions as far as Mediterranean cultures, with trade with China through the Silk Road.
This brought different religions and changes of women’s roles, which adapted how individuals interacted, along with the foods they ate. The Post Neolithic occurred 800 to 500 years ago, meaning an estimated range of 1222 C.E. through 1522 C.E. This means, that on the tale end of the Post Neolithic, they may have already been seeing trade from the Americas through interactions with the Dutch, but we went into this meal assuming that they hadn’t, due to the limited amount of evidence.
Let’s talk about Tom Kha Soup
Tom Kha Soup, as I mentioned above, is a version of Tom Yum Soup. It traditionally is rich with flavors of lemongrass, chilis and tomatoes, but due to the timeline, we had to omit some flavors.
Ours was mostly the same as what you would expect today. By it being the Post Neolithic, we did not have to omit items like shallots, garlic or sugar, and many of the ingredients have a long history in Thailand Cuisine. The history of Tom Yum Soup is mostly unknown, but based on the presence of fresh water shrimp in Central Thailand, and the long history with individual ingredients, it’s highly likely that this dish, or a modification like it, could have been a staple during the Post Neolithic.
Post Neolithic Tom Kha Soup
Ingredients
- 4.5 cups water
- 2 stalks of lemongrass, outer layers peeled
- 1.5 cm piece of galangal, cut into 4 slices
- 5 kaffir lime leaves , torn roughly
- 3 garlic cloves
- 120g king tuber mushroom, Sliced
- 1 Shallot, cut into wedges
- 340g of Whole Shrimp, Thawed
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1.5 tbsp fish sauce
- Coconut Milk
- Kaffir Lime juice, 1-3 tbsp (to flavor)
Instructions
- Take the thawed shrimp and remove heads, shells and tails. Place into stock pot.
- Peel Lemongrass stalk and garlic cloves. Smack them with a mallet (Or smack the lemon grass stalks against a counter, like we did). Add to stock pot.
- Cut the Galangal in four slices, around 1.5 cm thick. Take the Kaffir lime leaves, torn up. Add to stock pot.
- Add 4.5 cups of water, bring stock pot to boil.
- Once it starts to boil, reduce heat to low, covering with lid. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, strain the broth, discarding the stewed items. Put the broth back in the stock pot.
- Take the mushrooms and shallots, adding to broth. Simmer for 3 minutes.
- Add Shrimp and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Then, add sugar, fish sauce and coconut milk to the broth. Stir it in and simmer for 1 minute.
- Once done, add lime juice, stirring it in. Serve promptly and garnish with Cilantro.
Reviews
Meghan’s Review
5 out of 5 stars
This recipe was great and I enjoyed it so much. The only thing I would have loved more about it was if it was a bit more salty or spicy. The salty part could have been fixed with more fish sauce, which I should have just added more of. This is definitely something I’d love to make again and maybe pair it with noodles to thicken it up.
Bradly’s Review
5 out of 5 stars
The strong white colour of the meal was kinda off putting, it made me think of cereal. But that first spoonful changed my mind in an instant. It was sweet and savoury all at the same time. The mushrooms were very meaty. This was unexpected, I was expecting them to be more mushy, instead they were chewy and very filling. The prawns were a nice addition, but the meal would have been just as nice without them. I would honestly give it a 5 out of 5 and would recommend it to anyone to make.
