2 answers
★ Best answer
For a real Thai lemongrass soup, you really don't need to make it complicated: you bring chicken or shrimp broth to a boil, add crushed lemongrass pieces (the white parts especially), fresh galangal if you can find it, torn kaffir lime leaves, and let it steep for a good while so it picks up flavor. Then you add your protein (shrimp, chicken, tofu), a splash of fish sauce, some fresh chili, and fresh lime juice at the end. The key thing is really that lemongrass base infusing properly, no rushing it, and never cook the fish sauce for long or it gets weird.
The trap is grinding the lemongrass too early - it loses its volatile fragrance, so add it just before serving or even straight into the bowl. One thing that really changes everything: soak whole stalks in boiling water for a few minutes before crushing them, it releases the essential oils without losing them to cooking, and you get a really fragrant broth instead of a soup that tastes bland.
Your answer
Log into answer.