I got this recipe a year or so ago from Delicious magazine. It's become a staple in our house. As a busy person I appreciate that it's quick and nourishing. As a lazy person I appreciate that it's quick and nourishing and as a mother of a toddler who likes to wrap herself around my legs, I appreciate that even though it's quick, it can be made in stages.
The joy is further deepened because you can adapt it according to:
How much you want to blow your sinuses to Kingdom come (you increase the heat).
Whether you are low carbing or not (if not you can add noodles).
How many people you are feeding. You can up the broth part by adding more stock, or just beef it up by adding more prawns or mushrooms or summat. It's versatile.
Here is the recipe:
Broth:
1 litre of stock, vegetable or chicken, cube fine
2 large chillis, halved (deseed them if you want to, I like the extra heat, also I'm lazy, have I mentioned, so I keep the seeds in, also less chance of rubbing your eyes and burning them OUT OF YOUR HEAD if you don't de-seed them. Lisa I'm talking about you honey)
2 kaffir lime leaves, scrunched up and chucked in
3 tablespoons of fish sauce
2 lemongrass stalks, bruised(I use two teaspoons from a jar, cheaper too)
Juice of one lime
1 tablespoon of caster sugar
T'other ingredients:
125g oriental looking mushrooms
250g large raw prawns (it won't be the end of the world if they're ready cooked)
1 pak choi (I now use spinach, so much easier to eat and deal with)
200g noodles, leave out if you're low carbing.
A hanky or tissue.
First you make the broth. Put all of the first lot of ingredients in a pan, cover and simmer. The recipe says to do it for four minutes and then sieve and then you chuck out the chillis and what not. If you want the broth hotter, simmer for longer and/or keep the ingredients in for longer before sieving.
Strain the broth into another big pan.
(If you want, you can leave it now to cool down and either put it in the fridge for later/another day or freeze it.)
Add the other ingredients. If you're using frozen prawns give them five minutes cooking time, then add the pak choi etc. Cook noodles according to packet instructions, you should be able to just add them in for the last two minutes if they're regular Chinese noodles.
Slurp. Use the hanky to wipe your nose.
And yes Pete, I DID forget to put the noodles in this lunchtime!
3 comments:
LOL! No, I want to use a brand new pair of Marigolds every time I cut chillis, just like Nigella. *pout*
This is very similar to a soup I make when I'm unwell, based on my (Japanese) grandmother's chicken soup that cures all. I add ginger and garlic, but the rest is pretty much the same. Lovely and very comforting.
Your soup sounds lovely Lisa. So comforting it's really helped clear my sinuses out although my throat is still sore..
I lived off a similar soup (but with ginger) for last couple of weeks of my pregnancy - it was the only thing that I wanted to eat.
Post a Comment