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Prawn, chilli and lime soup

Name: Prawn, chilli and lime soup
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: Serves 4 as part of a meal
Cuisine: Thai recipes
Ingredients: 8-10 bird’s eye chillies, chopped; 4-5 large garlic cloves, peeled; 500ml good quality chicken stock; 200g large sustainable king prawns, peeled, preferably tail on; 4-5 tbsp lime juice; 4-5 tbsp nam pla (fish sauce); Handful freshly chopped coriander to garnish; You’ll also need…; Pestle and mortar

Published: 25 Mar 20
Updated: 18 Mar 24

No two chillies or limes are created equal, so frequent tasting is an important part of making this soup. It needs to be hot, tart, salty and bright. Serve as a simple starter or light lunch with rice noodles if you like.

Easy
March 2020

Test kitchen approved

Serves 4 as part of a meal
Hands-on time 30 min

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 57kcals
Fat: 0.5g (0.2g saturated)
Protein: 10.8g
Carbohydrates: 2.2g (1.5g sugars)
Fibre: 0.2g
Salt: 4.4g

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Ingredients

8-10 bird’s eye chillies, chopped
4-5 large garlic cloves, peeled
500ml good quality chicken stock
200g large sustainable king prawns, peeled, preferably tail on
4-5 tbsp lime juice
4-5 tbsp nam pla (fish sauce)
Handful freshly chopped coriander to garnish

You’ll also need…

Pestle and mortar

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Method

Pound the chillies and garlic in a pestle and mortar to a fine paste (you can use a small food processor or Nutribullet to do this, if you like).
Bring the stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Add the chilli and garlic paste, then bring back to the boil. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, then add the prawns and bring back to the boil for 2-3 minutes until the prawns are pink and just cooked.
Remove the pan from the heat, then add the lime juice and fish sauce. Taste and add more of each as needed. Divide among bowls and garnish with fresh coriander to serve.

Recipe from March 2020 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 57kcals
Fat: 0.5g (0.2g saturated)
Protein: 10.8g
Carbohydrates: 2.2g (1.5g sugars)
Fibre: 0.2g
Salt: 4.4g

delicious. tips

To get the most juice from your limes, roll them on a hard work surface before you squeeze them. This encourages the limes to release more juice. Always add lime juice off the heat to prevent bitterness and cloudiness in the finished dish.

Thai soup should be served in small individual bowls alongside the rice, stir-fries, curries and any other dishes shared with the other diners.
In Thai cuisine, soup forms an integral part of the main meal rather than being a starter, and it performs one of two purposes: to provide a neutral foil to the other dishes, cooling and resetting an over-stimulated palate.