Hot and Sour Soup

This is Thailand’s signature soup and is found all over that country with many regional variations. Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients. Making this soup is a snap.

Especially when you cook it in a microwave.

6 cooked Pacific prawns in their shells – ‘shrimp’ in the USA 500mls water
500mls vegetable stock
Juice of 2 limes and zest of one 2tbs fish sauce
1tbs sweet chili sauce
4 scallions (spring onions), thinly sliced 1tbs fresh lemon grass (or use bottled but not dried) 1tbs coriander (cilantro), chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed
1tsp fresh ginger root, crushed 1 red chili, thinly sliced – discard seeds 3 kaffir lime leaves, shredded

Whew!

Okay, I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong. It’s easy, trust me. Just assemble that list in your own time and have it all ready to go.

First job: peel the prawns and put the shells and the water in a microwave safe jug or bowl. Cover and cook on High for six minutes. Strain and discard the shells. Put the liquid in a clean microwave container.

Next job: stir in all the ingredients except the prawns, cover and cook on High for 5 minutes.

Last job: de-vein the prawns, cut them in half length-wise, add them to the soup and cook for 30 seconds on High. Serve.

Simple, or what?

You could garnish with a few coriander leaves, left whole to float on top of the soup. This quantity is about right for four people.

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