Southeast Asian Soups

Unlike Western versions, Thai and Vietnamese crustacean soup recipes rarely call for cooking the crustacean shells to extract their flavor. They rely instead on savory mixtures of shallots, hot peppers, lemongrass, fish sauce, and other exotic ingredients to make a delicious and intensely flavored soup base. Light, Asian-style broth is then added. Relatively little seafood is needed to round out the flavor of the soup.