Dinner · 35 min · thai

Tom Klong (Smoked Fish & Herb Soup)

Dinner decisions, handled: Tom Klong (Smoked Fish & Herb Soup) pairs smoked mackerel with galangal for a 35-minute Thai dinner. Each serving lands at 240 calories with 28g of protein, so it eats like a much heavier meal. Simple enough for a Tuesday, good enough to serve to guests — that is the whole idea.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Smoked mackerel
• 5 slices Galangal
• 3 stalks Lemongrass
• 2 tbsp Tamarind paste
• 5 Dried chilies
• 1 cup Holy basil
• 2 tbsp Fish sauce
• 4 Shallots

Steps

1. Char the dried chilies and shallots in a dry skillet until blackened in spots and fragrant. This toasting step gives tom klong its signature smoky depth.
2. Simmer the galangal, lemongrass, and charred shallots in 6 cups of water for 15 minutes to make a deeply aromatic broth.
3. Stir in the tamarind paste and fish sauce. The broth should be assertively sour and smoky, bolder than tom yum, with the smoke leading.
4. Add the smoked mackerel, broken into large chunks, and simmer 5 minutes just to heat through. The fish is already cooked; you are marrying flavors, not cooking fish.
5. Crumble in the toasted dried chilies, stir in the holy basil off the heat, and serve. Eat with rice. The smoky-sour broth demands something to soak into.

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