For most people, Thai cuisine is somewhat of a mystery. People order it based on the recommendations of friends, usually the one who has discovered a passion for Thai. The more adventurous, of course, ask the servers for suggestions, especially if they want to experience the most authentic Thai dishes.

There is an irony, however. As much as more people love Thai food, most would never dream of trying to cook it at home. And yet, Alan Wong, general manager of Kung Fu Plaza, suggests preparing your own Thai dish at least once. And he says tom yum goong is a good place to start — hot and sour shrimp is the most famous of all Thai soups.

"Thai food is part science and part art, which is why some people think it is especially easy even though it is especially hard," said Wong. "Since I know that Kung Fu Plaza's tom yum goong soup cannot be duplicated at home, I found a recipe that can be."

An At-Home Tom Yum Goong Soup Recipe

Ingredients

8 ounces of shrimp, shelled and deveined (reserve the shells)
3 cups of water
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 Kaffir lime leaves
3 thin slices of galangal
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 stalks of lemongrass
2 shallots
1/2 cup of straw mushrooms
5 green Thai chili peppers
1/4 cup of lime juice
1 teaspoon of black chili paste
1 teaspoon of cilantro

1. Rinse the shrimp shells and place them in large pot with the water. Boil and then discard the shells to make a pre-stock.
2. Add the garlic, Kaffir leaves, galangal, fish sauce, lemongrass, and shallots. Cook gently, and then add mushrooms and chili peppers. Cook for two minutes more on medium.
3. Add the shrimp and reheat to a boil until the shrimp are cooked, characteristically pink. Then add the lime juice and black chili paste in the serving bowl and pour the soup over the top. Garnish with cilantro.

There are many variations of this time-honored soup.

"I compared this dish to both our own and that of award-winning Chef Chai Siriyarn," says Wong. "And what I found was that his version is a much simpler, lighter fare with a surprising addition of tomatoes."

According to Wong, Chef Siriyarn uses chicken stock in lieu of water or a light fish stock. He also prefers button mushrooms, bird chilis, and uses a roasted chili jam as opposed to black chili paste. While Wong says most of the differences are regional (because each region has its own version of tom yum), the addition of the tomatoes adds thickness to the soup, adding a signature twist.

"Our dish attempts to stay truer to the original tom yum, which came from Northeastern Thailand. If our family recipe was influenced, it was likely by central Thailand, which is where most of our dishes were perfected," says Wong. "I will add that like Chef Siriyarn, we also have our blend of roasted chili sauce to make the dish our own. Because of that and our special ingredients, it's important to maintain the soup at 160 degrees when it is served."

With so many variations, Wong says that it is difficult to say which soup is the most authentic. However, like many of the recipes at Kung Fu Plaza, the Wong family uses the oldest version possible.

"Our tom yum soup is one of the oldest recipes I have ever tasted, which is probably why the temperature is so important to keep certain ingredients from blending and losing the balanced taste," Wong said. "But especially for those guests who live in Las Vegas or are visiting Las Vegas soon, I thought that they could try one of the most common recipes at home and then try our soup to pick up on the subtle, almost magical differences in taste."

Kung Fu Plaza is the oldest and most authentic Thai restaurant in Las Vegas. It was founded in 1973 after the Wong family moved to the United States from Thailand. The Wong family has gone to great lengths to preserve traditional Thai recipes. The restaurant also has one of the largest Las Vegas Thai delivery areas along The Strip.

*The top photo uses yet another recipe, substituting calamari for shrimp.