Home at 7, dinner at 8 - Asian Noodle Soup with Prawns

Asian Noodle Soup with Prawns.

This is one of the all-time easiest recipes to cook after a long day and, once you've got your cupboard stocked with the right Asian bits, the shopping for it will be nothing more than some fresh herbs and perhaps a few chillies.

It's very versatile and can be made with any vegetables, fish or meat that you fancy or happen to have in the fridge.
Preparation 10 mins Cooking 10 mins Serves 2

For the stock:
500ml chicken stock
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced or
1 tsp ready-chopped garlic
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp sesame seed oil
salt (optional)

For the soup:
200g dried soba noodles or instant noodles
10-12 whole prawns, peeled
2 heads of pak choi, cut into quarters
1 red chilli, sliced
1/2 bunch of coriander, chopped
3 spring onions, trimmed and cut into slices
1 lime, cut into wedges

1 The key to a good soup is a good stock so the first job is making the broth big and bold in flavour. Pour the stock into a saucepan and place on a high heat. Add the remaining ingredients and allow the broth to come to the boil. Taste to check for the spicy/salty balance. If necessary, add more sweet chilli sauce or salt.

2 Add the noodles and the prawns and cook for four to five minutes until the noodles are cooked through. Fold the pak choi into the soup and cook until the leaves are tender and the stalk still has a crunch, about two to three minutes.

3 Serve in deep soup bowls and sprinkle with the sliced chilli, coriander and spring onions. Serve a wedge of lime on the side. You can add a tin of coconut milk to this soup to give it more of a
Thai feel.