Hot & sour soup
Ingredients
- 750 ml vegetable stock or fish stock
- 4 dried kaffir lime leaves
- 2.5 cm 1 inch piece fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 red chilli deseeded and sliced
- 1 lemon grass stalk lightly bruised
- 125 g 4 oz mushrooms, sliced
- 100 g 3½ oz rice noodles
- 75 g 3 oz baby spinach
- 125 g 4 oz cooked, peeled tiger prawns, or defrosted if frozen, rinsed with cold water and drained
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Put the stock, lime leaves, fresh root ginger, chilli and lemon grass in a large saucepan. Cover and bring to the boil. Add the mushrooms and simmer for 2 minutes. Break the noodles into short lengths, drop into the soup and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Add the baby spinach and prawns and simmer for 2 minutes until the prawns are heated through. Add the lemon juice. Remove and discard the lemon grass stalk and season the soup with black pepper before serving.
Notes & Wine Advice
For hot coconut soup, make up the soup as above, adding just 450 ml (¾ pint) stock and a 400 ml (14 fl oz) can coconut milk, plus 2 teaspoons ready-made Thai red curry paste. Continue as above and serve sprinkled with a little chopped coriander.