Tom Yum Soup

Ease of Preparation: Medium.
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients
Stock
2 lbs (900g) of pork bones
5 cloves garlic, crushed
6 cilantro roots, roughly chopped
½ teaspoon (3ml) white peppercorns
Top half of 2 stems of lemongrass, roughly chopped
Tom Yum Soup
5oz. (150g) fresh egg noodles, raw
2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable oil
½ lb (225g) ground pork
3 tablespoons (45ml) fish sauce
2 cups (480ml) bean sprouts
1 tablespoon (15ml) sugar
¼ cup (60ml) lime juice
3 cups (720ml) pork stock
1 tablespoon (15ml) roasted chili powder
¼ cup (60ml) fresh cilantro, chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges
¼ cup (60ml) fried shallots, store-bought
¼ cup (60ml) unsalted peanuts, chopped
Method
Stock
Place all ingredients in a large stock pot and cover with water.
Heat over high heat, and cook for 3 hours.
Every 30 minutes, skim the impurities off the top of the stock using a large spoon or a small ladle.
Remove from heat, and strain.
Reserve liquid for soup.
Tom Yum Soup
Cook egg noodles and set aside.
Heat oil in a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat.
Add ground pork and cook for 4-5 minutes, breaking the pork apart with a fork.
Add fish sauce and cook for 2 minutes.
In a separate pot, bring water to a boil.
Add bean sprouts and blanch for 30 seconds.
Remove from water and set sprouts aside.
To the pork and fish sauce, add sugar, lime juice. pork stock and chili.
In each bowl, place a portion of cooked noodles.
Add half the bean sprouts, and pour over half the soup with the pork.
Garnish with fried shallots, peanuts and cilantro.
Serve hot with a lime wedge on the side.