Tom Yum Soup

Yum by name and Yum by nature, this Thai hot and sour soup is a quick and warming lunch and one I frequently fall back on if I am working from home or am cooking only for myself and can't be bothered to go to too much effort.

It is hot (both chilli and steam hot) and fragrant, with strong pungent flavours.  As soups go, this one is not particularly shy or retiring.   It is also ridiculously moorish (I have been known to drain the broth after the noodles have been eaten straight from the bowl) and also pretty healthy!

It honestly takes less than 5 minutes from turning on the kettle to sitting at the table.

This is the bog standard, basic staple recipe which you can jazz up with spring onions, prawns, leftover chicken breast, mushrooms, baby corn, strips of fresh ginger, basically anything you happen to have leftover.  Believe me though, this version is beautiful just as it is and also very filling.

So set the timer and let's get started.

Put the kettle on- you want enough boiling water to fill your soup bowl about 3/4 of the way full.

In a small saucepan put 2 tablespoons liquid chicken stock, 1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce, juice of 1 lime, 1 small red chilli, snipped in, a handful of ripped coriander, also snipped in and 1 tablespoon Tom Yum soup paste (if you don't have any you can leave this out and just make it with the rest of the ingredients.  This turns it into a standard hot and sour soup instead of a Tom Yum soup but it is still just as nice).  You can also add a small pinch of brown sugar if you want to tone down the sharpness a little but remember, this soup is supposed to be hot and sour, not sweet.

Pour the boiling water on the top and bring to a rapid boil.

Add your choice of noodle (egg or vermicelli are my favourites) plus anything else you want to throw in.

Boil for about 3 minutes and serve.

Slurping optional.