feed a cold, starve a fever

[wordinista]

I have such a wild crush on Tyler Florence, y'all don't even know.  A good-looking man who can cook?  Hoomama.

I just tried his Tom Yum Goong recipe today, because I'd had it once at Old Town Thai in Alexandria, like, six years ago, and couldn't remember what it was called. I do remember that, when I first had it, I'd been nursing a cold, and nothing had ever, ever made me feel so good.  (No, wait.  I lie.  I had quite possibly the best Kung Pao Chicken evar at a place called The Opium Den in Oxford.  Again, I was sick, and it was exactly what I needed. Haven't found a place since that does it that well.)  Anyway, thanks to teh intarwebz, I discovered a site where the menu was scanned in, and I could start looking for TYG recipes.  Because, really.  Chicken soup's got nothing on a hot and sour soup when it comes to clearing out the sinuses.

So, I found the recipe, printed it out, and went tromping around town for ingredients.  I'd nearly given up on the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, until I tried our local Asian market even though I didn't remember them carrying produce -- guess what?  They do!  The little old lady who runs the shop (or, at least, I'm pretty sure she does, as she's ALWAYS in there when I go in) asked if I had the recipe with me.  I didn't, but she happened to have a little Thai cookbook hidden behind the counter, and when she whipped it out, I was relieved to see that the recipes were nearly identical.  She also informed me that she carries galangal, but I'd already bought fresh ginger, so I figure I'll try the recipe next time with galangal instead.

And now I am basking in the joy of spicy, lemongrassy, soupy goodness.  And my sinuses are omg, so happy.  And it tastes exactly how I remember it tasting when I had it at Old Town Thai, which I consider to be an excellent sign.

...I think I have a new comfort food.  Right up there with made-from-scratch macaroni and cheese. :)