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.

Sticky Soy Beef in Do-Fo-Ru with Garlic Mushrooms

Serves 2
Takes 15 minutes to make, plus chilling

300g piece beef fillet, sliced lengthways into 4 thin slices
4 do-fu ru cubes or tempeh (from oriental supermarkets and health food shops)
2 tbsp groundnut oil
50ml light soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
250g oyster mushrooms, halved if large
Finely sliced spring onions, to garnish

1. Season the beef, then rub a cube of do-fu ru or tempeh over each slice. Cover and chill for 20 minutes or overnight.

2. Place a wok over a high heat. When hot, add half the oil and all the beef. Cook for 1-2 minutes each side, until golden. Mix together the soy and sugar, add to the wok and bubble until sticky. Remove from the heat.

3. Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the garlic and mushrooms and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. Divide between plates, top with the beef and garnish with the spring onions to serve.

Nutritional Information

Per serving:
377kcals
21.6g fat (6.5g saturated)
39.1g protein
7.2g carbs
3.8g sugar
3.8g salt