Po Tak (Hot & Sour Seafood Soup) Serves 6 to 8.

This soup is rich, spicy and moderately hot. It contains enough solids to
serve as a main course when accompanied by rice and a vegetable dish.
“Artificial crab legs” may be substituted for the crab claws.

Ingredients:

½ lb firm fish fillets
1/4 lb raw shrimp
4 cleaned squid
½ lb small or medium crab claws
20 shelled mussels, shucked clams or bay scallops

6 cups water
12 pieces kah (galanga)
10 Kaffir lime leaves

2 Tbs Roasted Red Curry [see below]
1/4 cup + 2 Tbs Nam Pla (fish sauce)

1/4 cup + 2 Tbs lime juice
1 tsp ground roasted chiles [see below]

1 cup cilantro

Procedu

1. Slice the fish fillets into pieces about 1 inch square. Peel and devein
the shrimp, leaving the tails intact. Slice the squid into pieces about 1
inch square. Crack the crab claws by hitting them with a hammer or the side
of a cleaver. Place all in a bowl and set aside.

2. Put the water, kah and Kaffir lime leaves in a large pot and rapidly
bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to moderate and boil gently for 5 minutes.

3. Add the seafood, Roasted Red Curry and fish sauce to the pot and return
to a gentle boil. Cook until the shrimp are pink and the fish is firm and
opaque, about 3 or 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. Add the lime juice and ground chiles and mix well. Place the soup in a
tureen or serving bowl and garnish with cilantro.

5. Serve with rice.

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Roasted Red Curry (Nam Prik Pao)

This is the authentic, traditional recipe. Reduce the amount of shrimp
paste if you want, but don't eliminate it. A very strong odor will develop
when you're frying the dried shrimp and shrimp paste, so either prepare it
when no guests are around or on an outdoor BBQ, in which case, put the wok
directly on the red-hot coals. It will keep up to six months in the
'fridge. The oil will rise to the top, so stir before using. Spread thinly
on toast, serve as a cocktail snack, side dish or dip.

Ingredients (makes 3 cups):

3 oz. wet tamarind or tamarind extract
½ cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup warm water

1/4 lb. dried New Mexico, California or hotter chiles
1 cup vegetable oil

½ cup finely chopped garlic

1 cup finely chopped yellow onion

1-1/4 cups dried shrimp
1/4 cup shrimp paste

Procedu

1. Soak the wet tamarind in 3/4 cup warm water for 15 minutes, then press
through a sieve, getting all the pulp you can, including the water. Scrape
the outside of the sieve to get all the pulp. (skip this if using the
concentrate)

2. Place the tamarind solution and sugar in a saucepan, adding 3/4 cup warm
water if you use the concentrate). Bring to a boil and immediately remove
from heat. Let cool to room temp.

3. Remove the stems and seeds from the chiles and tear into pieces no
larger than 1" square. Heat a wok, add ½ cup oil and swirl over surface.
Stir fry the chiles over moderate heat until they are deep red and lightly
fragrant, but don't let them burn. Remove the chiles, but not the oil, from
the wok and set them aside in a bowl.

4. Add 2 more Tbs oil to the wok and stir fry the garlic 'til lightly
golden. Remove garlic, but not oil, and add it to the chiles.

5. Add another 2 Tbs oil to the wok and stir fry the onion 'til it's light
golden. Again, remove and add to chiles and garlic.

6. Add 1/4 cup more oil to the wok, add the dried shrimp and cook for about
1 minute, then add the shrimp paste and stir fry 'til the color is uniform
and the strong odor has subsided, 1 or 2 minutes. Add all the wok contents,
including the oil, to the previously fried ingredients and allow to come to
room temp.

7. Place the fried ingredients, oil and tamarind mixture in a food
processor or blender and grind to a smooth paste, adding more oil if it
seems dry. Store in closed jar.

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Roasting and grinding Red chiles

Preferably Thai Prik Kee Noo (3 to 4 inch Thai chiles) or whatever you
like. Roast whole, stems and all, in a dry wok or skillet until the color
changes to dark red or brown, being very careful to not let them burn. Have
a fan on and windows open! When cool enough to handle, remove the stems
(and seeds - if you want). Put them in a food processor or blender and
start to grind, using short pulsing action at first. Then let it run
steadily 'til very small pieces.

Will keep forever in a closed container, but like all ground spices, will
lose potency over time.

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