Weeknight Tom Yum Goong with Prawns and Mushrooms

⏱ 30 min · Serves 4

Hot, sour and fragrant, this Thai prawn soup comes together in half an hour with a broth that smells like a holiday. Bruised lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves do the heavy lifting, while a spoon of chilli jam gives it that glossy, slightly sweet depth.

Per serving: 355 kcal · 18.5g protein · 52.0g carbs · 6.0g fat

Ingredients

• 300g raw prawns, shell-on if possible
• 1.2 litres chicken or light fish stock
• 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised and cut into 4cm pieces
• 5 slices fresh or frozen galangal (or ginger)
• 6 makrut lime leaves, torn
• 200g oyster or button mushrooms, halved
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 4 small red bird's eye chillies, lightly crushed
• 2 tbsp Thai chilli jam (nam prik pao)
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 4 tbsp lime juice (about 2 limes), plus more to taste
• 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges (optional)
• 1 small handful coriander leaves
• Steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Method

1. Peel the prawns, keeping the shells and heads if you have them. Devein the prawns and chill until needed.
2. Dry-fry the prawn shells in a dry pot over high heat for 2 minutes until pink and aromatic, then pour in the stock. Simmer 10 minutes and strain out the shells (skip this step if using peeled prawns).
3. Return the stock to the pot and add lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves, shallots and crushed chillies. Simmer 5 minutes to infuse.
4. Stir in the chilli jam, fish sauce and sugar until the jam dissolves. Add the mushrooms and tomatoes and simmer 3 minutes.
5. Add the prawns and cook just until pink and curled, 1-2 minutes. Take the pot off the heat.
6. Stir in the lime juice off the heat so it stays bright. Taste and balance: more fish sauce for salt, lime for sour, a pinch of sugar to round it out.
7. Ladle into bowls, scatter with coriander and serve with jasmine rice. Warn diners that the lemongrass and galangal are for flavour, not eating.