tempting food

… or as me and Liz call it, “coughy soup”. So spicy it makes you cough uncontrollably. Of course, you could tone it down, but that’d defeat the point entirely :)

Ingredients

• 250g raw prawns, shell on
• 950ml water
• 4 peppercorns
• small piece of bay leaf
• half a celery stick, roughly chopped
• 2 lemongrass
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 4 slices galangal
• 2 birds eye chillies, sliced
• 100g button mushrooms, halved
• 8-10 cherry tomatoes
• 3 scallions, sliced
• 20ml fish sauce
• 1.5 limes, juiced
• 1.5 tbsp tom yum paste

Serves 4

Directions

1. Peel and devein the prawns. Set aside. Add the heads and shells to a saucepan with the water, celery, bay leaf and peppercorn
2. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 mins, removing any scum that forms on the surface
3. Turn the heat off and set aside for another 20 mins
4. Peel the outer layers off the lemongrass. You dont’ want any woody bits, keep peeling until you what you have left is bendy and tender. Slice thinly
5. Strain the stock and add the lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, chillies, fish sauce, lime juice and tom yum paste to a pot and bring to a boil. After boiling for 5 minutes, add tomatoes and mushrooms. After another 5, add the prawns. Cook for around 5 mins until they are fully pink. Garnish with sliced scallions and serve