BULANGLANG TOMYUM SOUP

Bulanglang is referred to as Vegetable Stew cooked along with alamang (shrimp paste) or fish sauce. This type of dish is popular among Batangeno but were also been cooked predominantly in other parts of the Philippines. While Tomyum is very famous among our neighboring country Thailand. Its taste is mildly sour, mildly spicy and mildly cool. So I thought of combining the rich taste of Tomyum paste ( I used commercial/ prepared bottle as I still need to do a lot of research when I do my version of Tom Yum paste in terms of preservation and shelf life) and the nutritious selection of vegetables in Bulanglang. So what is the result? Look closely into the photo and imagine the coolness of its flavor....because of the lemony and vibrant lemongrass and ginger, refreshing fruity sour taste of tamarind plus the heat and the kick of Thai chillies and other herbs and spices combined in one bowl. So get ready to experience perfection in a bowl.

INGREDIENT
You can actually dunk in all the vegetables that you want to put in, but let us stick to the basic one for this recipe.

2 pieces of Talong (Eggplant)
5-10 pieces of Okra (Lady Finger)
Sitaw or Green Beans
Talbos ng Kamote or Kamote tops
Chilis
3 tbsps alamang (shrimp paste) or fish sauce
1 stalk lemon grass
3 tbsp minced garlic
3 tbsp minced onions
3 tbsp minced ginger
tomatoes 3 pcs medium size
Tom Yum paste (available in any grocery stores and Asian stores)
1 liter of water or soup stock (Chicken/Pork/Beef)

Procedure:

1. In a large pan, put the water, alamang, lemon grass, garlic, onions, ginger and tomatoes and bring to a boil.
2. Once boiling, put all the vegetables in and simmer until vegetables are cooked.
3. Put in the Tom Yum paste according to your taste and season with some salt and pepper.
4. Add the chillies and serve along with any fried fish.
5. Enjoy!!Loveat!