My daughter is famous at our house for her tom yam goong ("soup" "spicy" "shrimp"), which is the signature dish of Thailand and which my daughter writes about below.

Unfortunately for this soup, it's difficult to substitute anything for the different ingredients in it. They are all needed for the depth and richness that I think the soup has. It wouldn't be tom yam goong without them.

The former owner of the Bangkok Asian Market in Fort Collins, who is now the owner of the Bangkok Kitchen restaurant (1232 W. Elizabeth Street), used to hold mini cooking lessons at the store on Saturdays. My mother and I went a few times before they stopped doing it. It was nice to see how to make everything Thai and and how it was supposed to taste. It made it a lot easier to recreate the recipes at home. This particular recipe happens to be one that was demonstrated during one of those lessons. I've made it many times because it turns out so good.

For two people, you need:

Ingredients
4 cup chicken stock
10-12 shrimp (Kroger brand easy peel raw frozen white shrimp, 2 pound bag, 31-40 count; approximately $10.00)
5 white mushroom
1 shallot
1 medium-size tomato
1-2 lime
1-foot stalk lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus)
3 kaffir lime leaves (Citrus hystrix)
coconut milk (optional) ($1.59 per 13½-ounce can)
2 tablespoon nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
3 slice galangal (Alpinia galanga and other species)
5 sprig cilantro
2 small Thai chile
1 tablespoon nam prik pow (Thai chile paste with soybean oil)

Procedure
Start boiling the stock in a 2-quart pot.

Peel and de-vein the shrimp and set them aside. Cut the lemon grass into pieces, 3 inches long. Use the back of your knife to pound the lemon grass, just to bruise it and release the flavor. Then take your kaffir lime leaves and cut out the vein in the middle. After you have done that, you want to cut your galangal into three one-inch pieces. Set all of this to the side.

Next you want to take your mushrooms and cut them into quarters, and put into the stock. Then finally chop your shallot, and mix it in as well. You only want this to cook until the mushrooms are almost halfway done. Take your tomato and cut it into medium-small slices. Mix it in with the mushrooms and shallots. You do not want the tomato to get mushy so almost immediately add in the lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal. Let all of this cook together for about two to three minutes.

Coarsely chop your cilantro and toss it and the shrimp in at the same time. While the shrimp are cooking, a foam will appear on the top of the soup. You do not want this. Skim off the foam while the shrimp simmer until they are fully cooked. If coconut milk is desired, add and stir.

Put fish sauce and one lime's juice into the bowls you will serve the soup in. Crush the chiles, and add them to the bowl. Also add nam prik pow to the bowl. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.