I see I need to jet wash my flags.
- 3 lemongrass stems
- 1 ltr/1.75 pints/4.25 cups of good quality chicken stock. Not from a stock cube, then.
- 2 kaffir lime leaves
- 2 – 3 small red chillies, deseeded and chopped smallish.
- Fresh coriander, stems and leaves, chopped up.
- 2cm/¾” fresh root ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
- 400g/14oz raw, peeled, prawns.
- 3 – 4 tblspns freshly squeezed lime juice
- 3 tblspns fish sauce.
Serves 4.
- Cut the thin ends of the lemon grass off and whack the remaining thick ends with a heavy rolling pin/mallet or whatever comes to fist.
- Bring the stock to the boil, add the bashed lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, chillies, coriander and ginger, then bring back to the boil.
- Give it a stir, then add the prawns, lime juice and fish sauce.
- Simmer for 2 – 3 minutes until the prawns are cooked.
- Taste and add salt if needed. Fish out the lemon grass.
- Serve with extra chopped coriander leaves sprinkled over the top.
Time was when the ingrdients for this very simple recipe would have been hard to source – but now we can buy fresh chicken stock, fish sauce and usually Kaffir lime leaves in our local large supermarket. Mind you, despite the initial expense, it has to be cheaper to grow your own Kaffir lime bush if it can live in a cool but frost free place in the winter.