An aromatic soup influenced by recipes from South-east Asia, where eggs are often lightly cooked in a broth. Serve with prawn crackers or crusty bread for a speedy, light meal. Delicious!
For prawns, use cooked, shelled crayfish tails. * For a vegetarian soup, use vegetable stock and replace the prawns with cubes of smoked or plain tofu. * For a less spicy soup, use toasted sesame oilinstead of chilli oil.
Ready-crushed lemongrass, and crushed ginger (sold in jars) can be used to save preparation time – about 1 1/2 tsp of each should give a good flavour.
Crush the lemongrass with a rolling pin or the flat edge of a knife to release its delicate lemon flavour before adding it to the stock.
Took shortcuts. Use 1tbsp tom yum paste instead of lemongrass, ginger and chilli oil. Put in the pan and blend with a little stock before adding the rest. - 01 Jan 2009