Tom Yum Soup.

      This was Henry’s dish of choice as he travelled around Thailand. The healthy, spicy Thai classic just feels like holiday. As a soup it’s surprisingly filling, and it’s best eaten when it’s so hot and spicy it’s hard to continue and you break into sweats! Slurping is good here. Let this gorgeously hot, spicy soup warm you to your core!.

       SERVES 4.

       4 tbsp olive oil.

       1 small onion.

       4 garlic cloves.

       2 fresh red chillies.

       2½cm piece fresh ginger.

       1½ litres vegetable stock.

       1 tsp tomato purée.

       2 lemongrass stalks.

       6 lime leaves.

       2 limes.

       1 x 250g pack chestnut mushrooms.

       100g enoki mushrooms (2 bunches).

       200g cherry tomatoes.

       1 x 225g tin water chestnuts, optional.

       4 spring onions, to serve.

       small handful fresh chives, to serve.

       small handful fresh coriander, to serve.

       FOR THE TOM YUM PASTE.

       2 tbsp vegetable oil.

       100g Thai Red Curry Paste.

       3 tbsp palm sugar.

       1 tsp salt.

       Wok on a medium heat. Kettle boiled.

      First make the tom yum paste. Add the vegetable oil to the wok. When it’s hot add the red curry paste, palm sugar and salt and fry for 3 minutes, until the paste goes a darker red colour. Remove from the heat and scrape into a bowl. Give the wok a quick rinse and put back on the heat.

      Add the olive oil to the clean wok. Peel and roughly chop the onion. Peel the garlic. Rip the stems from the chillies and finely slice one, removing the seeds if you prefer a milder flavour. Peel the ginger by scraping off the skin with a spoon and finely chop. Crush the garlic into the wok, add in the onion, chilli and ginger and cook for 4 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.

      Pour 500ml of the stock into the wok and bring to the boil. Add the tom yum paste and mix well. Add the remaining stock and the tomato purée. Bash the bases of the lemongrass stalks and add them to the pan. Slice the lime leaves and throw them in. Simmer for 20 minutes.

      Cut the limes in half and squeeze in the juice, catching any pips in your other hand. Halve the chestnut mushrooms and add them to the pan with the enoki mushrooms and the tomatoes. Slice the water chestnuts, if using, and add them to the pan. Finely slice the remaining chilli into long diagonal slices, removing the seeds if you prefer a milder flavour, and add to the pan. Simmer for a further 5 minutes.

      Divide the soup between bowls. Trim and slice the spring onions and chop the chives. Sprinkle over the soup along with the coriander leaves and serve.