lobster roll, decadent and frivolous but who cares

New Year, New You? No actually, New Year, Let's eat WELL.

 

This sounds properly luxurious, but was - and in some places still is - a casual (and often surprisingly cheap) snack to be eaten on the beach where lobster is in decent supply. Perfect for when the weather is exactly as it is right now (well it is here anyway)

 

A good lobster roll

 

Serves 1

 

1 x 500g lobster, cooked and shelled, and meat chopped into 3cm pieces

3 sticks celery, finely chopped

10g horseradish mixed with 20g mayonnaise

Juice from ½ lemon

A quarter of an avocado

salt and pepper

15g butter lettuce leaves

1 brioche hot dog style bun

 

The method is very straightforward. Make some lobster salad by mixing cold cooked lobster in bite-sized chunks (with as much of the sweeter meat from the claws as possible) with some finely chopped celery, horseradish flavoured mayonnaise, a little lemon juice, diced avocado and salt and pepper.

 

Lay some lettuce leaves inside the toasted buttered hot dog bun and tumble in the lobster salad.

 

This dish is best accompanied by a decent packet of crisps. And better still, a sandy beach.
 

potted crab or instant noodles?

When the sun shines, so does the desire to be close to the water, and by beautiful default closer and fresher to some of our most wonderful food supplies. This is a great prepare-ahead dish that you can simply take out of the fridge half an hour before serving. If preparing in advance, make sure the crab meat is completely covered with the butter mixture, and keep the pots well chilled for up to two days. Fancy it up with a bit of sliced avocado, green apple, some green leaves and a rip of bread and all is good in the world.

If this all sounds too perfect and the beach is either too far away or your needs to be beside the seaside isn't great enough then a 3.30am cup of instant noodles with extra shio konbu thrown is easily an acceptable substitution. Close your eyes and hold a seashell to your ear, everything will be just all right again.

Serves 4 on a sunny day  

2 dressed crab (or 300g white and brown crab meat)
1 banana shallot (or 2 regular ones), peeled and finely chopped
4 tblsp sherry
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
175g cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
Squeeze of lemon juice, according to taste
Handful of chives, finely chopped
 
Run your fingers through the crab meat to pick out any remaining bits of shell and cartilage. Wrap with cling film and chill.

Put the shallot, sherry, cayenne pepper and nutmeg in a small saucepan.

Season well. Bring to the boil and let it bubble vigorously for about 2 minutes until the liquid has reduced to half.

Turn the heat to low and gradually whisk in the butter, a few cubes at a time. Leave it to simmer very gently for a few minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and let the flavours infuse as the butter cools.

Pour the butter mixture into a fine sieve set over a measuring jug and press down to extract the juice from the shallots. Discard the solids.

Mix the crab meat with the Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the mixture into four individual pots of some description, each about 6cm wide. Place the pots on a tray and pour the butter mixture over the crab meat to cover. Cover them with a large piece of cling film and chill for about 2-3 hours until set.

Remove the potted crab from the fridge 30 minutes before serving with anything from the suggestions above in addition to buttered brown toasts, lemon wedges, chopped chives and a large glass of something very cold.

Those noodles on the other hand need nothing more than a generous imagination, 

A mushy pea fritter by the sea, or fancy crispy squid?

There are few British delights left, that are quite quintessential as a poke of chips by the water. Whether it's on a promenade, a shingle beach, a pier or a pathway, this food sensation and the water's edge are destined to be. The fish and chip shop is as competitive a market as I've ever seen, and creativity abounds in a place where not so long ago you'd be hard pushed to see much more than cod or haddock, let alone an offering of posh prawn cocktail, followed by sea bass with a side of Caesar salad. But this is all good in the continuation of the British food movement forward, a subject close to more artery clogged hearts than you think.

Excuse the shabby phone pic, but this delight was from a pristinely clean place called Alexander's in Mudeford, Dorset. Where the 20 minute wait for the cooked to order cod, advertised at today's market price, was worth the lengthy queue. A splash of chilled pear cider and a seaside sunset and all was good with the world.


The thing that's most bothered me of late though, is the speed at which our chips go limp. No matter how quickly you get them out of the wrapping, or dig them from the bottom of the flower pot at the Bog and Chuckle I wanna be a Gastro pub, your chances of keeping them fresh are as slim as you'd be through the research process of such a dilemma. Anyways, don't think that the death of the chippy is upon us, far from it for that matter, but just in a let's spice things up with a wee bit of something super crispy from the kitchen.

Crispy paprika salt squid with aïoli

Enough for 4 to snack on

400g prepared squid tubes
vegetable oil, for deep frying
100g plain flour
1/2 tsp Spanish hot smoked paprika
1 tsp salt

For the aïoli
6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 tsp fine salt
2 large egg yolks
60ml light extra virgin olive oil
100-125ml vegetable oil, such as sunflower

First make the aïoli: put the garlic and salt in a mortar and using the pestle, grind to a paste. Put the garlic in a small food processor, add the egg yolks and mix well. With the machine running, slowly add the combined oils, a little at a time, until the mixture is very thick. Use immediately, or transfer to an airtight container or jar and refrigerate for up to two days.

Rinse the squid under running cold water and pat dry using kitchen paper. Cut the tubes along one side to open them out. Using a sharp knife, lightly score the inside surface of each tube in a criss-cross pattern, making sure you do not cut right through.

Then cut them into about 4cm pieces. Cut the tentacles into bite-sized pieces. Fill a heavy-based saucepan with vegetable oil and heat to 190C, or until a small cube of bread turns golden in about 30 seconds. While the oil is heating, combine the flour, paprika and salt in a bowl. Add the squid and mix until well coated. Shake off the squid and add to the oil in batches, cooking for 1-2 minutes each batch, or until golden and crispy.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Serve warm with alioli on the side.

Cockles, leeks and many spices

I recently had some okayish mussels, in a quite predictable setting with a rather pedestrian style but this time with an unexpected finale. Well, I guess if you're going to have them without an R in the month, a bit of time spent on the toilet is what you deserve.

This hasn't put me off. Foolishly we're now experimenting with cockles out of season, and I can assure that this number has been tried and tested in a few guises, thus far without the bathroom being a part of the recipe.. I recall first making a version of this as the soupy bit for a steamed turbot dish, but was so happy with the flavours that I thought it deserved its own moment of glory. 

Cockles are one of our more underused native shellfish, and it is a shame that they are more recognisable all crinkled up in the pain of a vinegar pickling by the seaside. Do try with cockles as I'm telling you to, but don't stop there with what our craggy shores offer. Maybe just wait till September or there abouts to throw all caution to the sea wind.

Cockles leeks and many spices
Serves about 6

800g leeks (you can use baby ones if you've got some)
2 tblsp olive oil

3 large red chillis, chopped

2 small green chillis, sliced into rounds

Pinch each of cardamom, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne and caraway seeds

1 lemon grass stalk sliced

1 thumb of ginger, peeled and sliced
500g fresh cockles (in the shell)
2 glasses white wine
300ml fish stock
100ml double cream
20g parsley (rough-chop the leaves, and discard the stalks)
20g thyme, chopped
70g butter (unsalted and at room temperature)
black pepper

Boil a pan of salted water. Trim the leeks, and blanch for 6-8 minutes until al dente. Run them immediately under cold water until they reach room temperature (they should feel neither hot nor cold), then cut into thick rounds, or if using baby leeks, into halves or thirds. In a deep frying pan heat the olive oil until nearly smoking. Chuck in all of the spices and aromats apart from half of the red chilli, and toss quickly for half a minute.

Throw in the cockles, then a minute later the white wine, and put the lid on. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the fish stock, toss in the leeks, and reduce the liquid by half. Lower the heat, stir in the double cream, rough-chopped parsley leaves and chopped thyme. Whisk in the butter in knobs and season with black pepper (it should not need any salt). Serve in shallow bowls, discarding any cockles that are not open. Sprinkle the remainder of the chilli and prop the bathroom window open to enjoy properly...

Thai prawns

So a whirlwind trip to Phuket and back ticked off the to do list, and while the hazy fog of jetlag is still with me, I thought there'd be nothing better than a killer prawn curry to keep the memories alive.  There was only so much that could be done with barely 48 hours in the country, but splitting the time between the heart of the island in Thalang which is in the shadows of Khao Phra Thaeo National Park, and the truly magical Khao Sok a couple of hours north of Phuket proved to capture all my attention and more.

I think it must be the simplicity of approach to the food that draws me, one of the best things I ate was a little dish of rice topped with slices of roast duck and a bowl of peanut chilli dipping sauce. Perfect and moreish, loved it for what it wasn't trying to be, and that I think is Thai food in a nutshell. I adored the smells, colours and sounds, there is always a certain vibrancy in that corner of South East Asia that will for ever steal me away, and in a food sense will continue to be an endless inspiration. Even on a wet and miserable Sunday in DC, the Maine Avenue fish market was a must for the prawns, aiding this story (with audio!  ) to continue for a little while longer.

This is quite a thin curry, which I've seen served with spiced salted beef. Kaffir lime leaves; fresh long chillies and Thai basil as essential garnishes, to give the dish its characteristic flavour.

Tradition demands that the prawns are added to the frying curry paste, but I feel that this can lead to such delicate items being overcooked, as they then continue simmering after the coconut milk is added. I think it's ultimately better to add the prawns once the base of the curry is made, when adding the vegetables. Almost any meat or fish can be used in place of the prawns, and the combination of the vegetable element has flexibility also.

Serves 4

5 tblsp cracked coconut cream
2½ tblsp green curry paste
1½ tblsp fish sauce, to taste
250ml coconut milk and/or chicken or prawn stock
3 apple aubergines, stalk removed and each cut into sixths (if cut in advance, keep in salted water to prevent discoloration)
100g picked pea aubergines
8-12 good quality large, raw prawns, cleaned and de-veined
3-4 kaffir lime leaves, torn
3 young green chillies, deseeded and thinly sliced at an angle
handful of Thai basil leaves
1 rounded tblsp shredded wild ginger

To make cracked coconut cream, simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated. It will then separate into thin oil and milk solids.

Heat the cracked coconut cream, add the curry paste and fry over a high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until fragrant. Make sure the paste is quite oily.

Season with fish sauce, and then moisten with the coconut milk or stock, or a mixture of the two. Bring to the boil, and then add the apple and pea aubergines. Simmer for a few minutes to cook before adding the prawns. Continue to simmer until they too are cooked.

Finish with the remaining ingredients, and then allow to rest for a minute or so before serving. The curry should have a dappling of separated coconut cream floating on top. 


For the podcast click here!  

Crab mayonnaise finger sandwiches

At any time of year, a quick snack dipped in a tiny bit of luxury to help in the perk me up process really ought to involve a bit of shellfish, and crab - so accessible and not really all that expensive fits the bill. I'd love to be in a position where I could romanticise up daily lingering lunches like this; glass of champagne, copy of The Telegraph and Radio 3 plinking away in the background of my fantasy Thursday lunchtimes. The stark reality, well midweek anyways, is that there are precious weekends right now where this shoe fits, so midweek? Ha! Stick it in a sandwich and grab it when you can...

Thankfully all is not entirely lost, the crab mayonnaise filling is very versatile – fantastic wrapped in lettuce leaves, in mini pastry shells as canapés and on bruschetta, or as I've done with a soft boiled egg and a few salad leaves this time round. Use fresh crabmeat and if you can, and homemade mayonnaise if you will for the best result and flavour.

Serves 4-6

300g white crabmeat
1 shallot, peeled and very finely chopped
½ crisp green apple (e.g., Granny Smith), peeled and finely diced
Small handful of coriander leaves, chopped
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
6-7 tblsp mayonnaise
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Squeeze of lime juice
8 medium slices of brown bread

Place the crabmeat in a bowl and pick out any bits of shell. Stir in the shallot, apple and coriander, and then add the mustard and enough mayonnaise to bind the mixture together.

Season with salt, pepper and lime juice. Chill for 20 minutes to allow the mixture to firm up a little.

Spread a thick layer of the crab mixture on to four slices of bread. Sandwich with the remaining pieces of bread. Cut off the crusts and slice each sandwich into three “fingers”. Serve immediately.

Spicy seafood soup

...and continuing the theme of spice and broth, yesterdays freezing rain just sealed the deal when deciding what to conjure up for lunch. Feeling a bit low with the world always has me turning to soup, as many will testify, it must simply be the 'Mothers warmth factor' in soup that makes most things seem better all of a sudden. Funnily enough I called my Mum after lunch and endured a tortuous but hilarious thirty minute walk through of receiving and replying to an email I'd just sent her! There will be a time, in the not too distant future when I'll be exasperating my own kids over some new fangled technology.

I don't have a blender at home, so more often than not, my soups tend to be chunky anyway, this seafood number is a good example of bunging it all in, getting your timing right, and serving straight from the pot. The recipe below is tried and tested, but really should only act as a starting point. 

Serves 2

2 large shrimp (prawn)

2 boneless fillets from a sea eel

2 pen shell clams

2 ounces (60g) prepared squid

2 large mussels

2 asari clams

2 large clams

½ young corn cob

¼ chingensai (bok choy or pak choi)

15 fluid ounces (440ml) dashi

1 sea bass fillet, cut into chunks

2 tbsp light soy sauce

¼ teaspoon sea salt

2 tbsp sake

1 teaspoon chilli garlic sauce

Coriander leaves

Prepare the main soup ingredients: insert a knife into the back of the shrimp and de-vein. Pour boiling water over it to change partially the surface colour. Plunge the eel into boiling water, immediately drain and plunge into iced water. Extract the pen shell clam from its shell and cut it and the squid into thin slices, about ¹/₁₆ in (3 mm) thick. Rinse well the mussel, the asari clams and the clam. Briefly blanch the young corn and the chingensai.

Pour the dashi into a cooking pot, add the main soup ingredients (including the sea bass) and bring to a boil. When the shells open, add the soy sauce, sea salt and sake to taste, and then add the chilli garlic sauce.

Transfer to a soup dish and sprinkle with coriander. I have this little jar of bonito, seaweed and sesame at home which I scattered over too - remarkable flavours.

Make sure that the fish, young corn and chingensai are all cooked and ready to eat at the same time. The shellfish are ready to eat as soon as the shells open.

Memories of Chiang Mai

Two of my most favourite people in the world have just spent a couple of days eating and drinking their way around Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. They seemed to find it amusing to keep me up to date with the occasional message or photo here and there to torture me in my obvious absence. Clearly unable to join them I was thrown into the mood for a good Pad Thai last night, and as I'm yet to discover a source of really good Thai food in DC yet (suggestions most welcome) I decided the best bet was to chuck one together at home. It's been more than 12 months since I was last in Thailand, but it has a smell you'll never forget. The fragrances attached to the food there is instantly recognisable and utterly forgettable, and I do recall the best Pad Thai I had was in Chiang Mai. If I had a bottle of Thai whisky I'd have rounded it off with a glass as they did (!) but anyway, this rather lengthy but totally worth it recipe is for Randal and Paula...

Pad Thai

Serves 2

25g tamarind paste
3/4 cup boiling water
2 tblsp fish sauce
2 tblsp palm sugar
1 tblsp rice wine vinegar
100g rice stick noodles
150g marinated tofu, recipe follows
1 to 2 tblsp peanut oil
1 cup chopped spring onions
2 tsp minced garlic
2 whole eggs, beaten
2 tsps salted cabbage
1 tblsp dried shrimp
75g bean sprouts, divided
1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts, chopped, divided
Freshly ground dried red chilli peppers, to taste
1 lime, cut into wedges

Place the tamarind paste in the boiling water and set aside while preparing the other ingredients.

Combine the fish sauce, palm sugar, and rice wine vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.

Place the rice stick noodles in a mixing bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Once the other ingredients are measured out into separate bowls, drain the water from the noodles and set them aside. Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch wide strips.

Add the tamarind paste to the sauce and stir to combine.

Place a wok over high heat. Once hot, add 1 tblsp of the peanut oil. Heat until it shimmers, then add the tofu. Cook the tofu until golden brown, moving constantly, for no longer than 1 minute. Remove the tofu from the pan to a small bowl and set aside.

If necessary, add some more peanut oil to the pan and heat until shimmering. Add 2/3 of the spring onions and then the garlic, cook for 10 to 15 seconds. Add the eggs to the pan; once the eggs begin to set up, about 15 to 20 seconds, stir to scramble. Add the remaining ingredients in the following order and toss after each addition: noodles, sauce, cabbage, shrimp, and 2/3 of the bean sprouts and peanuts. Toss everything until heated through, but no longer than 1 to 2 minutes total. Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with the remaining spring onions, bean sprouts, and peanuts. Serve immediately with the ground chilli peppers and lime wedges.

Marinated tofu

150g extra firm tofu
1 1/2 cups soy sauce
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder

Wrap the tofu firmly in a tea towel. Place the wrapped tofu into an 8-inch cake pan. Top with another cake pan and weigh down with a 5-pound weight. (Bags of dried beans or grains work well.) Place in refrigerator and press for 12 to 15 hours.

Place pressed tofu in a 2-cup container. Combine soy sauce and five-spice powder and pour over tofu. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, turning once. Remove the tofu from the marinade and use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 2 to 3 days.

Maryland blue crabs

• This evening was spent amongst some truly great people enjoying terrific conversation, laughter and proper eating company. All the while consuming a disgraceful quantity of Maryland blue crabs, steamed and coated in their Old Bay Seasoning. Magical and moreish. Sickly spicy, yet insanely addictive. I think between 5 adults and an awesome 6 year old kid we easily took apart the best part of 70+ crabs in a near 4 hour session. Beyond the weird yet wonderful seasoning, the sweet meat of these gorgeous crabs was just amazing. Now these spice recipes are closely guarded secrets, so in an attempt to put something of note up here, I've gone for the best crab dish I think I've ever had prior to tonight. Consider this my second best offering till I work this spice mix out. The photo was before the assault took place, quite horrified by the state of the table at the end of dinner, so leaving that out for now...
• 
  
• Serves 4
• 
  
• 4 blue crabs
• 3 tsp tamarind pulp
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 chopped onions
• 1 5cm piece fresh ginger
• 2 birdseye chillies
• 3 spring onions, chopped
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 3 tblsp oil
• 3 tblsp sugar
• 2 tsp tomato puree
• 
  

This Singaporean dish is a total classic and, like all classics, it is superb served simply with nothing more than a bowl of plain steamed rice.

• 
  
• Boil a large pot of water and drop in 4 green blue swimmers, if you're anywhere near the Chesapeake you'll know what to do. Boil them rapidly for 4 minutes then tip the contents of the pot into a colander to drain. When cool enough to handle, chop crabs into quarters with a cleaver or large knife, leaving legs attached to body. With a hammer. gently crack the claws and areas of harder shell. 
• 
  
• Put 3 teaspoons tamarind pulp to soak in the cup boiling water. Finely chop 2 onions, grate 5 cm piece fresh ginger, finely slice 2-3 birdseye chillies (or to taste) and chop 3 spring onions. Mix 2 teaspoons cornflour with a little water. In a large wok or pan, heat 3 tablespoons of oil and stir fry onion, ginger and 2/3 of the chopped chillies for a couple of minutes. 
• 
  
• Add crab pieces and strained tamarind water, lower heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Lift the crab out onto a serving dish and to the mixture in the wok add 3 teaspoons sugar and 2 of tomato paste. Stir, add dissolved cornflour and stir again until the mixture thickens. Pour over the crab, garnish with the rest of the chillies and the spring onions and serve.

Lobster salad with matcha green tea and soya

Serves 2-4

This may not look award winning on the plate, but trust me on this, the flavour combinations are just outstanding, and is simply a lovely summery way to treat lobster. Alternatively use big prawns or even chunks of steamed white fish, but the key here really is in the balancing of the key flavours.

1 freshly cooked lobster, weighing 1lb/500g, with the meat removed and chopped

1 bunch of baby leeks, trimmed

A small bunch of spinach leaves

A small knob of fresh horseradish

For the dressing

Best quality olive oil
Fine powdered matcha green tea
Soy sauce

Warm the lobster gently in a saucepan with a little of the olive oil, throw the leeks in too to warm them through also. Scatter on a plate making sure to use all the pan juices as the base of the dressing, throw over a few spinach leaves at this stage. Sprinkle over a little soy sauce, dust with the matcha green tea powder and finish with a generous but very fine grating of fresh horseradish. At this point a touch of salt and pepper may be added.

Grilled honey prawns with noodle salad

Serves 4

When I go comfort at home, there's often noodles in the mix somewhere. Now Christmas and New Year's out of the way, it's time to get the diet back on track as best as possible, and this dish (or variations of it) I could easily eat a couple of times a week without any hint of boredom setting in. The arame seaweed in the noodle salad adds a subtle texture and a depth of flavour. I've done this recipe with chicken before too, but I had it with some fat prawns yesterday and it was the business.

1 tblsp honey
6 tblsp soy sauce
6 tblsp sake
1 fat clove of garlic, finely chopped
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
4-6 big prawns per person, shelled and cleaned
2 tblsp sesame oil
30g dried arame, shredded
240g vermicelli rice noodles
2 large carrots, peeled
4 inner celery stems, trimmed
2 bunches of chives, roughly snipped
1 large handful of coriander leaves

Place the honey, soy, sake, garlic and lemon zest in a small saucepan. Simmer gently for 3 minutes or until the honey has melted. Leave to cool until tepid.

Place the prawns in a bowl and mix in one-third of the marinade. Add 1 tblsp sesame oil and leave to marinate while you prepare the salad.

Soak the arame in plenty of cold water for 10 minutes. Drain and place in a mixing bowl with the remaining marinade.

In the meantime, prepare the noodles according to the packet instructions — usually by soaking in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and shake dry. Mix into the seaweed with 1 tblsp sesame oil. Slice the carrot and celery into matchsticks, about 5cm in length, and mix into the noodles along with the snipped chives and coriander leaves.

Preheat an oven-top griddle pan or non stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Remove the prawns from the marinade and cook in the pan for barely a minute on each side, or until cooked through with no hint of pinkness. Put the noodles on a plate and top with the prawns.

Prawn laksa with noodles

Serves 4

Last night was a laksa, beer, sofa and a couple of badly pirated dvd's at home, and should anyone have experienced a better combo than that, I need to know about it as soon as possible please. Laksa is as comforting as it is fragrant, as rich as it is satisfying and way easier than you realise once you get the balance of spice and acid in the soup just right. If you increase the quantity of noodles to 200g in this recipe, it can be served as a main course. Don’t be put off by the length of this, all but the final cooking of the prawns can be done well in advance

20 whole raw prawns (about 675g)

6 tblsp sunflower oil

1 litre good chicken stock

2 onions, halved and finely sliced

3 tblsp toasted sesame oil

4 large shallots, finely diced

2 Thai chillies (or to taste), finely sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely diced

1 tblsp peeled ginger, cut into fine shreds

100g creamed coconut

1 tbsp Thai fish sauce

2 tsp Kikkoman soy sauce

170g dried vermicelli rice noodles

2 large handfuls of coriander leaves

2 limes, halved

Twist off the prawn heads and peel away their shells. Heat 2 tblsp sunflower oil in a noncorrosive saucepan over a high heat. Add the prawn heads and shells, then stir-fry briskly for 2-3 minutes until they turn pink. Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 30 minutes. Strain and set aside.

Heat the remaining sunflower oil in a nonstick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the sliced onions and stir-fry for a minute before reducing the heat to medium-low. Sauté for 15 minutes, stirring regularly, until they turn slightly crisp and golden brown. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon and spread them out on kitchen paper to drain.

Clean the peeled prawns by running a knife down the length of their backs and removing the black digestive thread. Cover and chill.

Pour the sesame oil into a large saucepan and set over a medium heat. Add the shallots, chillies, garlic and ginger, then fry for 6 minutes until golden. Melt the creamed coconut in hot water in the sachets, then mix into the shallots with the prawn stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for a minute before adding the fish sauce, soy sauce and raw prawns. Simmer gently for 3 minutes until the prawns are pink and cooked through.

Prepare the noodles in hot water according to packet instructions, then divide between four soup bowls. Add the coriander leaves to the piping-hot soup, pour over the noodles and sprinkle with the fried onions. Serve immediately with the lime halves, or season the soup with lime juice to taste, then serve