Some of the most successful cooking projects are born of necessity – or just happy accident.
Take this recipe for tom yum risotto, which came about spontaneously, at the end of a long week. It had been days since my last grocery shopping trip, when I’d picked up ingredients to make tom yum soup. My fridge was nearly empty, but I still had leftover tom yum paste, lemongrass and lime leaves handy. In my cupboard was an ageing box of risotto rice, plus a single tin of coconut milk. Then, the flash of inspiration: Why not make tom yum risotto?
This dish begins much like traditional tom yum soup. First, I cooked down the aromatics, including shallots, garlic, ginger, lemongrass and bird’s-eye chillis. Then I briefly fried the risotto rice in the oil before mixing it with the vermillion tom yum paste and deglazing it with fish sauce. Afterwards, I added additions of stock and coconut milk, plus makrut lime leaves to impart their fragrant, almost floral flavour. To finish it off, I dropped whole cherry tomatoes into the rice and let them stew until they begin to collapse. Finally (I confess I made a separate grocery trip for this), I quickly cooked whole king prawns and served them on top of the risotto as a crowning flourish.
The resulting dish really is special, like tom yum soup made richer and heartier, still just as vibrant but even more comforting. It’s an ideal seasonal bridge – one that speaks of summer, with its bright and vibrant flavour profile, but which is also suited to still-chilly spring nights.
To do justice to this dish, it’s best to reach for a beer with a similar temperament. I love pairing juicy IPAs with Thai fare; generally, they have enough body to stand up to the big flavours (without any sharp bitterness that would clash), while their tropical profile feels harmonious. Villages’ Secret Sauce IPA is just such a beer. It celebrates the Dolcita hop, with its creamy peach and guava notes, and balances those luscious flavours with drinkability.
Together, the two feel like a summertime sneak preview – incredibly enticing on sunny spring days.
Tom Yum Risotto with Prawns
Serves 6-8
4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
4 échalion/banana shallots, peeled and sliced into thin rings
Fine sea salt
6-8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 large, 3-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
2 lemongrass stalks, tough other layers removed, minced
2 bird’s-eye chillis, minced
500g risotto rice
5-6 tablespoons tom yum paste (I used Mae Ploy)
2-3 tablespoons fish sauce (I recommend Red Boat)
1.5-1.8l fish or vegetable stock
1 400ml can full-fat coconut milk, divided
6-8 makrut lime leaves
450g whole cherry tomatoes
12 shell-on king prawns
Juice of 2 limes
Fresh coriander, to garnish
1. Into a Dutch oven or other large pan, add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Place over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and a good pinch of fine sea salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, or until softened.
2. Next, add the garlic, ginger, lemongrass and chillis. Cook for 2-3 minutes more, stirring frequently, or until the aromatics have softened and lost their raw smell.
3. Add the risotto rice. Stir well to coat in the oil and cook for several minutes. Next, add the tom yum paste and mix through until well incorporated. Add the fish sauce and mix through.
4. Pour over 500ml of the stock. Stir constantly, or until the liquid has largely been absorbed by the rice. Next, add ⅔ of the can of coconut milk, stirring until absorbed (reserve the rest of the coconut milk for later). Add the makrut lime leaves and the cherry tomatoes.
5. Cook the risotto for the next 30 or so minutes, adding 250ml additions of the stock and stirring constantly until absorbed before adding the next addition. Cook until the risotto has thickened and the rice has largely softened but is ever so slightly al dente. Use as much stock as required; I used roughly 1.5 litres.
6. Shortly before the risotto has finished, cook the prawns. Place a large frying pan over medium heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Place the prawns in a single layer just as the pan starts to heat up. Cook for roughly 2 minutes on the first side, or just until you see them turning opaque and pink on the bottom; then, flip and cook on the remaining side for another 1-2 minutes, or until the prawns are completely pink and no grey remains. Squeeze over the juice of ½ a lime, transfer to a plate and set aside.
7. Right before the risotto is finished, mix through the reserved coconut milk and the juice of the remaining one and a half limes, stirring for a minute or two until everything is incorporated. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
8. To serve, divide the risotto between plates or bowls. Garnish each serving with a couple of the prawns, plus some fresh coriander leaves.
Claire M Bullen is a professional food and travel writer, a beer hound and all-around lover of tasty things. You can follow her at @clairembullen. For more recipes like this, sign up to our HB&B All Killer No Filler beer subscription - you'll receive Claire's recipe and food pairings, plus expert tasting notes, with 10 world-class beers like this one every month.
