ข้าวต้มกุ้ง Khao Tom Kung (Rice Soup with Shrimps)

ข้าวต้มกุ้ง Khao Tom Kung (Rice Soup with Shrimps)

This is a warm and not-too-heavy dish, although quite filling, which is easy to prepare, especially if you have leftover rice in the fridge.

 

Ingredients (for 1 person)

Cooked (steamed) rice (long grain, not glutinous rice)         1/2    cup

Clear pork or chicken stock                                               2      cups (can be substituted with 2 cups of water + 1 stock cube)

Shrimps, peeled, deveined, with or without tails                   as many as you like

Spring onions, finely sliced                                                1      Tbsp

Garlic, chopped and sauteed in oil until golden and crispy    1/2    tsp

salt                                                                                  to taste

pepper                                                                             to taste

 

Cooking

1. Pour stock into saucepan, bring to the boil, add rice. Boil and stir to separate rice grains and soften the rice, approximately 1 - 2 minutes.

2. Add the shrimps. Boil until the shrimps are just cooked (colour turns pink all over). Add salt, taste.

3. Turn off the cooker.

4. Pour rice soup into a serving dish. Garnish with spring onions, fried garlic and pepper.

5. Serve.

 

Notes : - Do not use fish sauce in seasoning this dish. It gives a too-fishy smell.

          - Add just a little salt and taste before adding more if you prefer. This dish should taste mildly salty, with distinct flavour of the shrimps and stock.          

           - Add salt only after the shrimps are cooked, because only then the flavour of main ingredients have already been presented, and salt would serve only as 'seasoning'. I myself prefer to taste the soup before adding the salt, especially when I use stock cube because it already contains salt.

           - Some people like to add vinegar, pickled chillies in vinegar or dried chillies to the dish just before eating. You may try if you like it spicy.