英语博客(A cup of English):Tom yung goong（在线收听）

Beginners.

One of our favorite soups to eat is Tom Yung Goong. It is Thai soup that we first discovered in the local Thai restaurant. Someone recommended it to us. As with the rest of their food, the restaurant gives you the choice of the food being mild, medium, or spicy. We usually order the soup medium; I can't handle spicy. It's far too hot. This soup is a traditional recipe that is used to help people get over colds and flus in Thailand. It's ingredients are not only very healthy, but also extremely tasty, enough to make your mouth water. I decided to download the recipe and try to make it at home. I looked over the list of ingredients and got them out of the fridge. But I had one problem; an essential ingredient was missing. Instead of having fish sauce, I only had oyster sauce. "Well, that will have to do," I thought to myself, "I'll just have to make it work." The way the soup is made is basically mixing the bouillon, then adding raw vegetables, and some briefly cooked shrimp. I suppose you can add anything you fancy. I didn't have any shrimp either, so I used cooked chicken that was nicely browned and tasty. I cut it into short chunks and added it to the finished product. It turned out to be a different sort of Tom Yung Goong, but actually, my family enjoyed it.

Grammar notes.

Vocabulary: to handle, the choice of, essential, raw.

1. I can't handle this situation; it is too much for me.

2. We had the choice of roast beef or fried chicken.

3. Good sleep is essential for optimal health.

4. I love to dip raw vegetables in ranch dressing.

Advanced.

To make Tom Yung Goong you will need:

1-2 limes

lime leaves

Chile paste or flakes (to taste)

1 tablespoon of lemongrass

2 tablespoons of fish sauce

4 cups of water

 fresh mushrooms, cilantro, green onions and whatever other vegetables you prefer

1-2 handfuls of raw shrimp.

Put the water, lime juice, chile, fish sauce, and a couple of lime leaves in a large saucepan. Bring to boil and then simmer for a few minutes. Add the shrimp and turn off the heat. Watch and stir the shrimp until they are cooked. They get rubbery very quickly, so they don't need to be cooked very long. When the shrimp are cooked, add the chopped, raw vegetables and serve. One of the things I like most about this soup is that it is so easy to make. It is extremely quick to make. You could actually make many variations of this soup, depending on your preferences. Would you prefer a fish based soup or chicken? Would you prefer asian type vegetables or regular. You could even make it more substantial by adding rice or noodles of some type. Yum! I actually looked for the fish sauce today in the local supermarket but they didn't have any. I need to find a specialty shop; it's hard to do so in this small town. I think that there must be a small asian supplier somewhere because we do have a small and varied asian community in town. I must ask where I can find the right ingredients.

Grammar notes.

Related vocabulary: your preferences, specialty, substantial, supplier.

1. When you join an on-line dating service, you have to tell the company your preferences.

2. That specialty shop sells only mechanical toys.

3. This German bread is so substantial; one slice and you are full!

4. He was a garden chemical supplier for many years.