Thom Kha Pla (Galangal Soup With Fish)

Today I made one of my favorite soups, thom kha pla. I might be mistaken but I think the chicken version is the more popular, but I've always preferred my thom kha with fish. Thus I was very happy with today's recipe. In four pictures:




The ingredients above are pounded into a paste, and brought to a boil of stock and coconut milk. Next  a generous amount of galangal and a few lime leaves are added along with the fish. When the fish is fully cooked, the soup is poured into a serving bowl over a mixture of lime juice, fish sauce, chilies and cilantro. It should taste sour, salty and spicy. This one certainly did.