Yum: Tom Yum,
Minus The MSG

Steam curled upward from a vat of boiling broth and the scent of spicy meats filled the air while Kim Apiwat rummaged through a cooler of ingredients nearby.

We always keep it fresh, every day,” said Apiwat, revealing a colorful array of carrots, bok choy and spices inside the cooler.

Apiwat operates the Thai Awesome food cart at Sachem and Prospect streets with her husband, A” Saeng. She served up the popular hot and sour soup, called Tom Yum Noodle Soup, at lunchtime this week..

Apiwat said she never adds MSG, or monosodium glutamate, to any of her soups or other dishes. MSG is a food additive and a flavor enhancer; she said she doesn’t use it because it detracts from the health benefits of all her fresh ingredients.

She started by placing a mound of uncooked rice noodles at the bottom of the soup container. She added bright green bok choy leaves, a handful of bean sprouts and julienned carrots on top. Next, everything took a bath.

Caitlin Emma Photo

Kim Apiwat looks on as her husband talks to customers.

Apiwat poured all of the ingredients into a strainer and dunked them into a vat of boiling water and broth. She submerged the vegetables just long enough to blanch or slightly cook them before pouring it all back into the soup container.

Then she took thin-sliced strips of beef and sent them for a dunk, too. She kept the meat for longer than the vegetables, making sure it cooked thoroughly. Beef isn’t the only option. Customers can opt for chicken, tofu or just vegetables.

Apiwat added the beef back to the soup container and brought the whole thing over to the cooler where a variety of hot and savory flavors awaited. She added a scoop of minced garlic in garlic oil and two ladles of tom yum sauce. Tom yum sauce is a spicy, sour Thai broth made from stock and ingredients like lemon grass, lime juice, crushed chili peppers and a Thai plant called galangal.

Two tablespoons of sugar went into the container followed by a spoonful of crushed peanuts. Apiwat added cilantro, scallions and hot red pepper flakes for a final spicy and savory kick. A few fried wontons topped the whole thing off before the ingredients headed for the boiling chicken broth.

Apiwat ladled a few generous helpings of broth into the container and sealed it off for her next customer.

The filling, generous helping of soup runs her customers about $5.

I come here almost every day,” said Luiz Cordeiro, who works in the area. They have the best soups. They adjust it so it’s just the right amount of liquid and everything is cooked perfectly. I could live on this stuff.”

Cordeiro said Thai Awesome’s soups taste lighter than other soups offered at other area food carts.

It just tastes like they use less sodium,” he said.

And Apiwat takes fresh food seriously. The front of the Thai Awesome food cart is covered in menus and natural health advisories about their food. One sign claims their ginger drink, a sweet and tangy iced ginger tea, can ease upset stomachs and refresh the body on a hot summer day.

She said her food is homemade — right down to the sauces and the curries that they use in their dishes — and they’re constantly updating the menu.

Apiwat and her husband came to the U.S. from Bangkok just over seven years ago. They’ve now been in business for about six years, both with their food carts and their main restaurant at 1505 Dixwell Ave. in Hamden. Thai Awesome has another food cart on Cedar Street in New Haven.

She always has a smile on her face,” said Cordeiro, the customer, about Apiwat. It could be 20 degrees out here and she’s still smiling.”

Apiwat said her carts are open five days a week from about 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cart on Cedar Street is often open on the weekends, too.

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