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.

Hot and Sour Lime Soup with Beef

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Total cooking time: 35 minutes

Serves 4

Difficulty: Medium

1 litre beef stock
2 stems lemon grass, white part only, halved
3 cloves garlic, halved
2.5cm x 2.5cm piece fresh ginger, sliced
95g (3oz) fresh coriander, leaves and stalks separated
2 1.5cm x 4cm strips lime rind
2 star anise
3 small fresh red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
4 spring onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
500g (1lb) fillet steak, trimmed
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon grated palm sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
Fresh coriander leaves, extra, to garnish

1. Place the stock, lemon grass, garlic, ginger, coriander stalks, rind, star anise, 1 teaspoon chopped chilli, half the spring onion, and 1 litre water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes. Strain and return the liquid to the pan.

2. Heat a chargrill pan until very hot. Brush with olive oil and sear the steak on both sides until browned on the outside, but very rare in the centre.

3. Reheat the soup, adding the fish sauce and palm sugar. Season and add the lime juice to taste - you should achieve a hot and sour flavour.

4. Add the remaining spring onion and the chopped coriander leaves to the soup. Slice the beef across the grain into thin strips. Curl the strips into a decorative pattern, then place in 4 deep serving bowls. Pour the soup over the beef and garnish with the remaining chilli and coriander leaves.

Nutrition per serving
Protein 31g; Fat 7g; Carbohydrate 7g; Dietary Fibre 0.5g; Cholesterol 84mg; 900kJ (215kcal)