Last night, we made a hot and sour Thai soup based on a recipe from The Culinary Institute’s The New Book of Soups. It was delicious, and even came out basically looking like the photograph in the book (and on the CIA website). The broth of this soup is light but complex, melding the flavors of lemongrass, fish sauce, lemon, lime, and chili. Beware, however: it is spicy! We sweated through the whole meal while the child laughed at us. My brave little taster gamely dipped his tongue into a tiny spoonful of the soup and licked the lime before I juiced it.

Thai Hot and Sour Soup

Thai Hot and Sour Soup

Get the recipe here: The Culinary Institute of America Food Enthusiasts Thai Hot and Sour Soup.

About the recipe: “Thai hot-and-sour soup creates a fascinating interplay of spicy-hot chili and sour-citrus flavor. All the ingredients are crucial to the overall flavor, so don’t leave anything out. You can find them at Asian groceries and some specialty markets. Once you have all your ingredients assembled, this soup is a snap to put together.”

We customized the recipe only in that 1) we used our own Chicken Stock, 2) I made my own Pickled Chilis because they were impossible to find in any local grocery stores, and 3) we sliced medium shrimp in half the long way so they would twist up into pretty corkscrews as they cooked.