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Chilled Watermelon Tom Yum Soup

Try this refreshing cold watermelon soup inspired by the Thai's Tom Yum. It has many of the same ingredients, such as lime leaf, lemongrass, lime juice, ginger, cilantro, fish sauce, and fresh lime juice.  Pro tip: chill your bowls in the freezer before serving.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 7 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 qt watermelon chunks (chilled)
  • ½ inch ginger, peeled (about 1 tsp minced)
  • ½ cup onion (chopped)
  • 2 cloves garlic (peeled)
  • 1 whole tomato (cored and sliced)
  • 4 whole limes, juiced (about ¾ cup)
  • 5 tbsp fish sauce + 1 tsp
  • 3 tbsp roasted chili paste (+ more for garnish)
  • ½ lb shrimp (peeled and deveined)
  • ½ cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 2 stalks lemongrass (sliced)
  • 4 whole lime leaves (thinly sliced or chiffonade)
  • ½ cup neutral oil
  • Fried shallots for garnish
  • 2 whole small persian cucumbers or ½ an English cucumber (diced and chilled)
  • Cilantro for garnish

Method
 

  1. Combine 1 quart of watermelon, ginger, onion, garlic, tomato, lime juice, fish sauce, and chili paste into a blender. Blend until smooth and pour into a large bowl. Blend the second quart of watermelon and add to the first batch.
  2. Place the bowl into the fridge to chill.
  3. Combine vinegar, water, salt, fish sauce, and sugar into a small saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. If you want to make it spicy, add a teaspoon of the roasted chili paste or chili flakes.
  4. Add shrimp into the vinegar mixture and turn off the heat. Make sure all of the shrimp is submerged. Set aside for the shrimp to finish cooking.
  5. Cut off the dry woodsy part of the lemongrass and thinly slice the stalks. Add lemongrass, lime leaves, and oil into a small blender or spice grinder and blend until smooth.
  6. In a small pan on medium heat, gently fry the oil while continuing to stir until fragrant.
  7. Strain lemongrass and lime leaf oil through a fine sieve and reserve the oil. Let cool completely.
  8. Check shrimp to make sure it is completely cooked. Pour shrimp and liquid into a bowl and fill it with ice to stop the cooking process and chill the shrimp.
  9. Once the ice melts, drain the shrimp. If not serving immediately, cover and refrigerate.
  10. Right before serving, remove the watermelon soup, cucumber, cilantro, and shrimp from the fridge. Taste the soup and season to taste.
    11. Cooking tip: You always want to taste and season food, especially cold dishes, at the temperature you’re going to serve it.
  11. Ladle watermelon soup into a small bowl and place a small handful of cucumbers and a few shrimp on top. Garnish with cilantro, fried shallots, a teaspoon of the roasted chili paste, and a spoonful of the green oil drizzled on top.
  12. Serve immediately and enjoy.