Spicy prawn and lemon grass soup

I honestly thought I'd written this one up, but it's not there, so I guess I didn't.

This is actually one we have made a few times in the past, so it's more tried and tested than experimental, but the deal was every recipe, and so we made it anyway. Also, because it's delicious!

Bring 1.2 litres of chicken stock to the boil in a big pot. Throw in some lemon grass. The recipe says "two lemon grass stalks", but we can't find fresh lemon grass here, so I basically just threw in a bunch of the bottled stuff. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 10 mins. (It says remove the lemon grass and discard. This is probably necessary with the fresh ones, but with the bottled stuff I didn't bother.)

Add 8 lime leaves, 3 fresh red chillies, seeded and chopped, a pinch of black pepper, 3 tablespoons of fish sauce and three tablespoons of lime juice. Let it simmer for a few minutes, then throw in the prawns (225g, shelled and de-veined) and remove from the heat and leave to stand for ten mins. Stir in two chopped spring onions and some fresh coriander and serve immediately.

This is a really great soup for a starter. It's quick and easy, and light and exceptionally tasty.

Lots of thumbs up!