Hot and Sour Prawn Soup
This is a classic thai seafood soup — tom yam kung — and it is probably the most popular and well-known soup from that country.
Ingredients
- 450g/ 1lb raw king prawns, thawed if frozen
- 1 litre / 1¾ pints / 4 cups chicken stock or water
- 3 lemon grass stalks, root trimmed
- 10 kaffir lime leaves, torn in half
- 225g / 8oz can straw mushrooms
- 45ml / 3 tbsp nam pla (fish sauce)
- 60mI / 4 tbsp lime juice
- 30ml / 2 tbsp chopped spring onion
- 15ml / 1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves
- 4 fresh red, chillies, seeded and thinly sliced
- salt and ground black pepper
Preparation
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- Shell the prawns, putting the shells in a colander. Devein the prawns and set them aside.
- Rinse the shells under cold water, then put in a large saucepan with the stock or water. Bring to the boil.
- Bruise the lemon grass stalks and add them to the stock with half the lime leaves. Simmer gently for 5-6 minutes, until the stock is fragrant.
- Strain the stock, return it to the clean pan and reheat. Add the drained mushrooms and the prawns, then cook until the prawns turn pink.
- Stir in the nam pla (fish sauce), lime juice, spring onion, coriander, chillies and the remaining lime leaves. Taste and adjust the seasoning. The soup should be sour, salty, spicy and hot.
Serves 4-6.