Thai-inspired Bouillabaisse

Thai-inspired Bouillabaisse

Serves 4
Bouillabaisse is a fish stew flavored with French herbs, saffron, fennel, and orange. In this Thai-inspired version, the traditional French flavors are subbed out for galangal, lemongrass, and lime. A touch of chile adds a warm heat. This soup is simple to make but looks impressive and is very satisfying—especially when served with rice. The broth can be made in advance so all you have to do is add the shellfish to be ready to eat in less than 10 minutes.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 pound large prawns, shells on (see Cook's Tip)
  • 2 tablespoons neutral high-heat oil
  • 1/2 white onion, sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 2 Thai chiles, or more to taste, smashed
  • 6 makrut lime leaves (see Cook's Tip)
  • 8 thin slices galangal
  • 2 stalks lelmongrass, bottom halves only, outer layers removed, stalks smashed
  • 1/4 cup Thai chile paste (Nam Prik Pao) (not curry paste)
  • 1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced
  • 3/4 pound scallops
  • 3/4 pound mussels, scrubbed and beards removed
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 3 limes, zested and juiced (enough to make 1/4 cup juice)

Optional Toppings

  • cilantro leaves
  • basil leaves
  • sliced red chile peppers

Directions

  1. Peel and de-vein prawns, saving shellsin a bowl. Store peeled and clean prawns in fridge until ready to use.
  2. In a large pot, heat oil over mediumheat. Add prawn shells and onion. Sauté until brown and fragrant, about 3minutes. Add garlic and chiles. Stir.
  3.  Add 4 cups water. Crush lime leaves inyour hand and add to pot. Add galangal, lemongrass, and chile paste. (SeeCook’s Tips.) Once broth comes to boil, lower heat, cover, and simmer 10minutes.
  4. Strain broth. Discard shells andaromatics. (At this point, the broth can be stored in a covered container inthe fridge up to two days until ready to eat.) Return broth to large pot andbring to simmer over medium to medium-high heat. Avoid a rapid boil as it canbreak and overcook the seafood.
  5. Add tomato and scallops to pot. After 2minutes, add mussels and reserved prawns. Cover pot and give it a shake todistribute the seafood. When mussels open and scallops and prawns have just cookedthrough, about 3 to 4 additional minutes, immediately remove from heat to avoidover-cooking.
  6. Add fish sauce, lime zest, and 1/4 cuplime juice. Adjust broth, to taste.
  7. Ladle into bowls and garnish with herbsand chiles, if desired.

Cook’s Tips

Purchase prawns with shells on from the freezer section. Defrost them in a covered container in the refrigerator before peeling and de-veining. If preferred, peeled and cleaned prawns may be substituted for the shell-on shrimp, but seafood stock should be used in place of the 4 cups water in step 3 to maintain a flavorful soup broth.

Makrut lime leaves (formerly, kaffir lime leaves) are ubiquitous in authentic Thai cooking. If unavailable, simply omit. The added lime zest and juice will suffice.

The sweetness of different brands of chile paste can vary. Add up to a teaspoon of granulated sugar to your soup, if more sweetness is desired. Chile paste is quite thick so it can help to loosen the paste with a bit of hot broth before adding to the pot. This will enable it to incorporate more easily.