Hot & Sour Seafood Soup (Thai)

This is the kind of soup that makes you reach for a second bowl before you’ve finished the first. A close cousin to Thai tom yum talay, the broth is built on aromatics that get steeped like tea: bruised lemongrass stalks, glossy kaffir lime leaves, and serrano chilies, all simmered with shrimp shells you’d otherwise toss.

Don’t skip the shell stock step. Those discarded shrimp shells are pure flavor concentrate, and a 20-minute simmer turns plain chicken broth into something that tastes like the sea pulled through a Thai herb garden. Strain everything out and you’re left with a fragrant golden broth ready to receive the seafood.

The seafood goes in last and cooks fast. One minute is all the shrimp and scallops need; any longer and they turn rubbery. The fish sauce, lime juice, and fresh cilantro hit the soup off the heat to keep their brightness alive.

Chef Tips

• Bruise the lemongrass with the back of your knife before adding it to the pot. Crushing releases the oils trapped in the woody stalk; whole pieces give nothing.
• Add fresh lime juice off the heat. Boiling lime juice turns it bitter and dulls the whole soup.
• If you can’t find kaffir lime leaves, use the zest of one lime; it won’t be the same but it’s the closest substitute.
• Slice scallops in half horizontally if they’re large. They’ll cook in the same minute as the shrimp instead of staying raw in the center.

Variations

• Stir in a can of light coconut milk along with the seafood for a tom kha-leaning version.
• Add 4 ounces of cubed firm tofu and a handful of straw mushrooms for a more substantial bowl.
• Swap shrimp and scallops for chunks of firm white fish like cod or halibut for a milder, less briny soup.