Cook’s notes

What two Thai soups? Shrimp tom yum and chicken tom yum. Both soups require kaffir lime leaves and galangal. We have a kaffir lime tree and we grow galangal but they haven’t been uprooted from the old house and replanted in the garden of the house where we have moved. In their absence, I had to make do with what I had in the fridge — plenty of tomatoes, a generous amount of lemongrass, finger chilies and ginger. All things considered, it turned out to be one heck of a soup.

But why pork? Because that was what had been thawing in the fridge overnight. I thought about thinly slicing the slab of pork shoulder, making a lemongrass and chili paste, marinating the meat in the paste and grilling the meat slices in the oven — all lined up neatly in a tray covered with parchment paper. But marinating takes time, and lunch was already late. So, I made soup. As with many meat (or seafood) and vegetable soups in Asia, this dish was served as a main course. With rice, of course.

If you’re new at Southeast Asian cooking and you feel you need more details about the ingredients used in the recipe, see the linked posts below.

Tip: For best results, use a cut of pork with a good amount of fat. Shoulder or belly, or a combination, works well.

You may opt to use bone-in pork like ribs. The broth will be richer. But to make sure that everyone gets enough (this is a main course, after all), increase the amount of pork to 800 grams to a kilogram, depending on the size of the bones in your chosen cut.

Pork, lemongrass, chili and tomato soup

Prep: 10

Cook: 1 10

Total: 1 20

Servings: 4 people

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Asian

Label: Pork and vegetable soup

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Ingredients

2 tablespoons cooking oil
500 grams boneless pork (1.1 pounds) cut into two-inch cubes
4 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
2 shallots peeled and thinly sliced
2 to 3 stalks scallions sliced
2 stalks lemongrass (lower portions only) peeled and sliced
2 finger chilies sliced
1 two-inch knob ginger peeled and sliced
4 to 5 stalks cilantro (roots and stems) finely sliced
6 to 8 tomatoes cut into wedges
2 tablespoons fish sauce (you may need more)
cilantro (leaves only) to serve

Instructions

Heat the cooking oil in a pot.
Over high heat, spread the pork cubes in the hot oil, leave the undersides to brown lightly then stir to continue browning.
Lower the heat to medium. Add the garlic, shallots, scallions, lemongrass, cilantro roots and stems, finger chilies and tomatoes. Drizzle in the fish sauce. Saute for three to five minutes or until the vegetables are softened.
Pour in enough water to cover the pork and vegetables by two inches and leave to boil.
Set the heat to low, cover the pot, and cook the pork and vegetables until the meat is tender. Taste the broth every ten minutes or so and add more fish sauce, as needed.
Ladle the pork and vegetables into bowls, sprinkle in cilantro leaves and serve immediately.