How to Cook Genuine Sour, Spicy Tom Yum Goong (Thai Tom Yum Prawn Soup)

Peel prawns, removing heads and shells but not the tails. De-vein around a dozen prawns. While you are doing this, boil 4 cups of chicken stock.

Place into the stock, when boiling;

• 2 smashed lemongrass stalks (just the white parts of the base)
• 3 kaffir lime leaves (substitute lime peel of a whole lime if you have to)
• an inch of galangal root, thinly sliced
• 2 coriander roots
• 3 thinly sliced shallots (regular onion if you don't have shallots)
• 1/3rd a tomato, sliced
• 200g of straw mushrooms, cut in halves
• a tsp of white pepper
• about 6 small crushed Thai chillies
• a tsp of sambal belachan

When the stock has taken on the flavours, and your house smells amazing, add the prawns into the soup and turn off the fire. The prawns will cook in the remnant heat. Season the soup with juice of two limes, fish sauce and coriander leaves. Be careful not to add too much lime juice if you don't want the soup sour. Same goes for the fish sauce.