THAI FISH & PRAWN NOODLE SOUP

Soups are more than just a first course at a Thai table, they are sipped throughout a meal along with other dishes, but for me this soup is a meal in itself.  It is important to have all the ingredients ready to create the essential blend of flavours which are central to Thai cooking.

Ingredients

• 6 cups chicken stock
• 200 grams thin rice noodles
• 200 millilitres coconut milk
• 2 stems lemon grass, crushed and cut
• 2 inches galangal, thinly sliced
• 2 inches ginger, thinly sliced
• 2 coriander roots, crushed
• 2 fresh red chillies (deseeded and cut into thin slices)
• 4 tablespoons turmeric powder or 1 inch fresh tumeric
• 8 Kaffir leaves, remove the centre line, and torn apart
• 3 tablespoons of Thai basil leaves
• 3 tablespoons Coriander leaves
• bok choi, pan choi, cut in half and rinsed and then cut into smaller pieces before cooking
• 500 grams fish fillets, skinned and cut into medium size slices (I used red snapper)
• 250 grams of prawns in their shells (you will need the prawns whole)

Seasoning ingredients

• 4 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons lime juice 
• 2 tablespoons tamarin paste
• 1 tablespoon of roasted chilli paste

Soup Method

• Put the noodles in a bowl and pour boiling water over them.  Let them rest until they are soft.
• In a pot pour the chicken stock, lemon grass, galangal, ginger, 1 red chilli, 4 Kaffir leaves, coriander roots, bok choy stalks and turmeric.  Bring to the boil. 
• Add the coconut milk and the prawns.
• When boiling again, pour in the seasoning sauce mixture.  Add bok choy leaves, Thai basil and the fish pieces.  Gently boil the soup for a few minutes until the fish is cooked.

• To serve divide the noodles between the bowls and pour the soup over them.

• Garnish with red chilli slices, kaffir lime leaves, chopped fresh coriander and  prawns.
  

Tips

• You can substitute bok choi with other Chinese greens.
• If it needs more salt just add a little more fish sauce.
• If you want the soup to be more spicy just add more roasted chilli paste.
• It is a perfect dish for a cold weather day, it really warms you up.  To me this soup is comfort food!