The Tom Yam Soup From China Doll Noodles

By Savindri Perera

As you guys already know, I am a major acolyte of all things China Doll, and so far this is the second soup of theirs that is featured on my blog. The Tom Yam (also written as Tom Yum) is a spicy soup that is native to Thailand and Laos, and has been closely embraced by the Malaysian, Singaporean and Indonesian cuisine. The name Tom Yam loosely translates to “hot and sour” and indeed, these hot and sour flavours are so boldly laid out in this soup. The Tom Yam from China Doll looks something like that seen in the picture.
Now let me tell you how much I love this soup. The first thing that hit me when I opened this green bowl of goodness is the smell. I cook, and the smell of fresh ingredients is a major part of the process. Lemongrass is absolutely one of my favourite ingredients to work with because it smells so zingy and fresh. The broth of the soup is deliciously infused with lemon grass with additional chunks of lemongrass, floating around.
One negative: I however did not like the little chunks of lemongrass floating around, it messed with the smooth texture of the soup. I would have preferred the lemongrass to be in one or two half cut, bruised stalks to release the flavour.
Moving on the elements of the soup pretty much came together quite well. There were some succulent pieces of beautifully cut and perfectly cooked squid, which wasn’t too rubbery nor too raw. In addition, there were some juicy prawns floating around with the beautiful, transparent glass noodles.
Another negative: I would have liked a bit more noodles for holding up the soup. What surprised me the most were the crab halves in the soup. The chopsticks came in handy because they were perfect to pick out the crab meat with. Along with the crab, I was pleased to discover chunks of soft seer fish and lovely sweet onions. The onions added a nice sweet element to the mostly tangy soup. This soup certainly titillates ones senses, with its bold flavours and strong scent of lemongrass, lime and coriander, which come together so well.
Even though the soup appears red, it is not too spicy. The oil in the soup did bother me a little, but a little paper napkin gently swept across the surface of the soup fixed that problem.
Finally: This soup is the perfect cure if you are sick with a cold, or if you are suffering from a hangover (both methods tried and tested by this author).