Thai-style broth

I have called this broth 'Thai-style' because I am in no way an expert in Thai cooking and this is a very easy recipe that uses Thai flavours.

I was never a huge fan of spicy food when I was younger but as I have matured and my taste-buds have dulled - I adore chilli flavours. This is hot, so if you have a younger or more subtle palette than me, simply add less chillies.

This is a recipe for a super-simple broth that is perfect for a light lunch or a dinner party starter.

You will need:

1 litre of chicken stock
500g raw prawns (deveined)
a dozen button mushrooms halved or quartered
1 inch of raw ginger root, peeled
2 cloves of garlic
a stalk of lemon grass
3 Thai chillies (a mixture of colours is nice)
2 tblsp dark soy sauce
1 tblsp sesame oil
1 tblsp fish sauce

This couldn't be easier:

Simply pour the chicken stock in a pan and heat to simmering point.

Meanwhile finely chop the ginger, garlic, lemongrass and chillis together and add to the simmering stock.

Next, add the mushrooms and cover the pot, leave for about 10 minutes, until the mushrooms are soft.

Add the soy sauce, sesame oil and fish sauce, although feel free to omit the latter if it's a bit fishy for you.  I sometimes add it, sometimes don't, it really doesn't make too much difference.

Finally plop in your prawns and cook until they are shell pink throughout.

Serve with some chopped chillis and a few sprigs of coriander if you like.

If you prefer a lighter colour to your soup, strain the stock containing the garlic, lemongrass, ginger and chillies through a piece of muslin and cook the mushrooms separately before adding them to the stock. Also use light soy sauce.