Hot and Sour Soup

Serves 4-6
Ingredients

1½ litres chicken stock
2 heaped tbsp tom yam paste
4 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
1 stick lemon grass, tender inner part only, roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lime
4 tbsp fish sauce
3 small fresh red or green chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp sugar
150g straw or button mushrooms, halved or quartered according to size
500g peeled raw prawns, thawed if frozen
5 small spring onions, cut into short lengths and then into strips
Small bunch coriander, chopped

1. Heat the stock and tom yam paste in a decent sized saucepan with the lime leaves, lemon grass, lime juice, fish sauce, chillies and sugar.

2. Bring to the boil, add the mushrooms and simmer for a couple of minutes, then add the prawns and spring onions and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, or until the prawns are cooked but still tender. Sprinkle with a little coriander and put more on the table for people to add themselves as they want.

Thai Pork Burgers

Serves 4
Ready in 30 minutes

500g minced pork
Thai curry paste
Fresh coriander
1 tablespoon sunflower oil

1. Put 500g minced pork in a food processor with 1 tablespoon good-quality green Thai curry paste. Add a small bunch of fresh coriander (including stalks), and some salt and pepper. Whizz briefly to combine. Divide the mixture into 4 and shape into burgers. Cover and chill for 20 minutes.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon sunflower oil in a large, non-stick frying pan and add the burgers. Cook for 4-5 minutes each side, until cooked through. Serve in buns with sliced tomatoes and lettuce.

Chicken Curry Puffs

Preparation time: 1 hour 30 minutes + 30 minutes chilling
Total cooking time: 35-45 minutes

Makes about 36

Difficulty: Medium

2 tablespoons oil
400g (13oz) chicken mince
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, finely chopped
3 coriander roots, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons ground coriander
1 small potato, peeled and very finely diced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander leaves and stems
3 teaspoons soft brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 small red chillies, finely chopped
¼ cup (60ml/2 fl oz) fish sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice
Oil, extra, for deep frying
Chilli sauce or satay sauce, to serve

Pastry:
1½ cups (185g/6oz) plain flour
½ cup (90g/3oz) rice flour
½ teaspoon salt
60g (20z) butter
½ cup (125ml/4 fl oz) coconut milk

1. Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan. Add the mince and cook over high heat for 3 minutes, or until it is starting to brown. Break up any lumps of mince with a fork as it cooks. Add the crushed garlic, onion, coriander roots, ground turmeric, cumin and coriander, and the potato to the wok. Stir-fry over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the mince and potato are tender.

2. Add the fresh coriander, sugar, pepper, chilli, fish sauce and lime juice. Stir until well combined and most of the liquid has evaporated, then remove from the heat and allow to cool.

3. To make the pastry, sift the flours and salt into a medium bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture is fine and crumbly. Make a well in the centre, add the coconut milk and mix with a knife until the mixture forms a dough. Gently knead until the dough is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

4. Divide the dough in half. Roll out one half on a lightly floured surface until it is about 3mm thick, and then cut into circles with an 8cm cutter.

5. Place 2 teaspoons of the filling in the centre of each circle, brush the edges of the pastry lightly with water and fold over to enclose the filling; press the edges to seal. Repeat with the remaining half of the dough, re-rolling the scraps until the dough and the filling are all used.

6. Heat the oil in a large wok or pan. Do not put too much oil in the wok - it should be only half full. Deep-fry the puffs, in batches, until puffed and browned. Remove from the oil with a wire mesh drainer, slotted spoon or tongs and drain on paper towels. Serve hot with chilli sauce or satay sauce.

Nutrition per puff:
Protein 3.5g; Fat 8g; Carbohydrate 7g; Dietary Fibre 0.5g; Cholesterol 15mg; 463kJ (111kcal)

Note:
If time is short, use about 8 sheets of ready-rolled puff pastry, instead of making the pastry.

Thai Chicken Balls

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Total cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves 6

Difficulty: Medium

1kg (2lb) chicken mince
1 cup (80g/2¾oz) fresh breadcrumbs
4 spring onions, sliced
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 cup (50g/1¾oz) chopped fresh coriander
¼ cup (60ml/2 fl oz) sweet chilli sauce
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
Oil, for shallow frying

1. Preheat the oven to moderately hot 200°C (400°F/Gas 6). Mix the mince and breadcrumbs in a large bowl.

2. Add the spring onion, ground and fresh coriander, chilli sauce and lemon juice, and mic well. Using damp hands, form the mixture into even balls that are small enough to eat with your finders.

3. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan, and shallow-fry the chicken balls in batches over high heat until browned all over. Place the chicken balls on a baking tray and bake until cooked through. The small chicken balls will take 5 minutes to cook and the larger ones will take 10-15 minutes. This mixture also makes a delicious filling for sausage rolls.

Nutrition per serving:
Protein 34.5g; Fat 18.5g; Carbohydrate 13g; Dietary Fibre 2g; Cholesterol 150mg; 1475kJ (250kcal)