Quick Shrimp Tom Yum Soup

12 - 15 qty of Pacific brand's Tom Yum Soup Base, in 1-qt waxed cartons

(Available at King Soopers, organic pantry aisle)

1 - 2 pounds of:
Straw mushrooms, canned, drained
Baby corn, Asian, canned, drained
Water chestnuts, frozen, in bags
Baby sugar snap peas, frozen, in bags
Fresh okra (or frozen)

1 - 2 pounds of fresh shrimp, raw, medium-sized, headless. De-vein (butterfly/slice 1/4-inch deep down middle of shrimps' backs, vertically, then pull out the black string from the middle of its backs) and peel the shells off. Substitute this with boneless, Alaskan red, wild salmon fillets or a milder, white fish, such as fresh haddock or cod fillets, boneless. Cut fish fillets into 2-inches wide x 1/2-inch thick x 2-inches long.

7 bunches of fresh cilantro leaves, stems removed. Washed, then chopped into 1/2-inch pieces. Use as a last step garnish on top of the soup.

Optional:

4 - 7 red chili peppers, Thai, washed, stems removed, coarsely-chopped
(Omit this for children)

4 - 5 cups of fresh galangal root and fresh ginger root, washed, peeled, finely-minced

1 - 2 cups of fish sauce or nuoc mam

Directions:

1. Steam Thai, fair-wage, organic, brown jasmine rice first, or boil wide, flat rice noodles (separately from Tom Yum Soup). Drain, and mix noodles with a green onion oil sauce. Toss it with a sauce made from two ingredients:

Green onion oil:

4 - 7 cups organic grapeseed oil
7 - 9 cups fresh green onions, organic, washed, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces (as much as will fit, completely covered in the oil)

Put those two ingredients together into a stovetop sauce pan. Boil on medium-high for five minutes, while stirring frequently. Allow it to cool completely (10 minutes) before tossing the cooked, drained rice noodles with the green onion oil.

2. Bring soup base to a high boil. Add frozen veggies, and raw, peeled, de-veined shrimp into soup pot. Lower temp to medium. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients, excluding the rice, or rice noodles and fresh cilantro.

3.  Stir and cook everything for approximately 15 - 20 minutes more, with a cover/lid. The shrimp should all be firm throughout, with a reddish-colored exterior, to be completely cooked. Cut one in half to look for opacity (opaque white, no transparency in flesh) throughout the center of the shrimp.

***For extra veggies, serve with raw, washed sugar snap peas, organic, and washed, organic baby carrots on the side.***