Poh Tak Soup
Poh Tak Soup is a Thai seafood soup with a combination of sour and spicy broth that hits all the right spots. It will for sure warm you up and leave you feeling satisfied.
Whenever I’m not feeling well, Thai soup is my go-to comfort food. The combination of sour and spicy broth never fails to make me feel better. I got to know about this recipe from an exchange student in my high school days who became a good friend of mine. I wasn’t a huge fan of seafood so let alone seafood soup but boy did this lady not change my mind with this Thai seafood soup. Ever since then I never looked back and now my rotation of seafood soups includes my Calamari soup and this Poh Tak Soup recipe.
Ingredients
- Seafood: For textures and tastes, I decided to buy mixed seafood, in the packet I had a mix of scallops, shrimp, calamari, and mussels. Their varying textures complement each other well in this Tom Yum soup.
- Mushrooms: fresh mushrooms for their earthy flavor and meaty texture. Look out for unblemished caps on the mushrooms and avoid those with any signs of mold or sliminess.
- Lemongrass: Look for stalks that are firm and have a pale yellow-green color, they have a rich citrusy aroma and flavor.
- Vegetable Broth or Water: Whether you prefer the depth of flavor from vegetable broth or the simplicity of water, both work as a base for this soup. If using water, consider enhancing the flavor with additional seasonings.
- Lime Juice: freshly squeezed lime juice is always superior to store bought.
- Fish Sauce: a great substitute for this is soy sauce.
- Ginger: Fresh ginger or ginger paste will work.
- Thai Fresh Chilies: This adds heat and spice to the soup, giving it that signature Thai kick.
- Sugar: (Optional)
- Seasoning of your choice
Detailed quantities are on the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to make Poh Tak Soup
- In a deep pot add 3 cups chicken broth, chopped thai chillies and 1 lemongrass stalk.
- Add your mixed seafood and bring everything to boil. Let it cook for 15 minutes.
- Add a teaspoon of fish sauce, teaspoon of sugar. Slice or crush about a tablespoon worth of ginger and add it to the pot with a squeeze of half fresh lime juice. Add sliced mushrooms and cook everything for 10 more minutes.
- Do a taste test before serving. See note below how to adjust the taste and flavors
- Serve and enjoy
Troubleshooting, Tips, and adjusting flavors of this Thai seafood soup
- A lot of tangy ingredients go into this Poh Tak Soup recipe, when I was testing it on my own I noticed the sour taste was overpowering the overall of the soup. To fix this hence I added a little bit of sugar. Don’t go overboard with it cause you sure don’t want a candy seafood soup.
- If you don’t like the savory taste of broths then I will suggest you replace the broth with water. For flavor, you might have to add some more seasoning.
- You may use any seafood of your choice; it doesn’t necessarily have to be mixed seafood.
- If not everyone in the household likes spicy food (my youngest doesn’t) , you can control the heat by separating the chili. Add the chilies to the serving dish so they can choose the level of spice they prefer.
Storage tips and how to reheating Poh Tak Soup
For seafood soup, I often tell my family not to leave any leftovers, especially when I add mussels or shellfish in the soup. If there are any leftovers, we make sure to consume them the next day as it isn’t recommended to store them for longer periods.
To reheat, I warm it on the stove over medium heat and stir occasionally until hot. You can also reheat in the microwave for a few minutes. Add fresh cilantro on top as garnish. Sometimes I like to add extra Thai chillies for an additional kick of spiciness.
FAQ
If your soup has turned dark, it may be due to an overcooked squid or shrimp. To make the broth clearer, you may want to blanch the seafood first. Since seafood cooks quickly, you can add it to the soup last. Also, if using fresh squid, make sure to clean it thoroughly and remove the ink sac before adding it to your seafood soup.
Poh Tak Soup and Tom Yum Soup are popular Thai dishes with distinct flavors. Poh Tak Soup features a variety of seafood in a flavorful broth with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, Thai chilies, and palm sugar, offering a blend of flavor. As a non Thai person they seem the same to me but my friend insist that they are not.
Tom Yum Soup is also known for its hot and sour flavor, combining lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, chilies, lime juice, and fish sauce for a harmonious blend of spicy, sour, and citrusy notes. Want to turn your Poh Tak soup into Tom Yum Gong? You can do this by adding a few spoonful of Nam Prik Pow and some tomatoes for that signature Tom Yum flavor.
More soup ideas to try
Poh Tak Soup
Ingredients
- 9 oz Mixed seafood (scallops, shrimp, calamari, and mussels)
- 3.5 oz Mushrooms
- 1 Lemongrass stalks
- 3 cups Vegetable broth or water
- 2 tsp Lime juice
- 1 tsp Fish sauce
- 1 tsp Crushed ginger
- ½ tsp Sugar
- 3 Thai fresh chilies
Instructions
- In a deep pot add 3 cups chicken broth, chopped Thai chilies, and 1 lemongrass stalk and bring it to a boil.
- Add your mixed seafood and let it cook for 10 minutes.
- Add a teaspoon of fish sauce and a teaspoon of sugar.
- Slice or crush about a tablespoon worth of ginger and add it to the pot with a squeeze of half fresh lime juice.
- Add sliced mushrooms and cook everything for 10 more minutes.
- Do a taste test before serving. If needed, adjust seasoning to suit your taste buds
- Serve and enjoy
