A Simple Soup of Shrimp and Lime

I like to keep things simple. Simple recipes demand quality ingredients and a careful touch. So I was intrigued by the recipe for geng jeut dtom gung manao. It didn't call for much, so I thought that this might be one of those subtle and excellent mix of flavors that intrigues the diner. The recipe called for stock, a pinch of salt and sugar, a few slices of lime, a few shrimp, white pepper, and cilantro. That's it.

Frankly, it was a misfire.  It was bland and lacking in flavor. My first mistake was not using my own stock. Next I might not have put the lime in soon enough for the soup to be either sour or bitter. The mix of flavors just didn't happen. At least it was pleasing to the eye.

This wasn't the end though. Wanting to make it up to my friend who was over for lunch, I made up the leftovers from yesterday. It was still great the second time around. A while later after a round of drinks, we were hungry yet again. I had leftover curry paste from the other day, so I quickly fried up another batch, this time with fish. I think I redeemed myself.