prawn and asparagus hot & sour soup

whenever we have fresh prawns i peel and devein them and put the rinsed shells back into the freezer ready to make prawn stock.

this week it was time to pull the numerous small bags out the freezer and start making stock… prawn stock is very easy to do – chop and fry, in a small amount of vegetable oil or butter, some onions, carrot, garlic and chilli. add the prawns shells and when they are coloured add boiling water and some parsley. boil for 20-30 minutes, drain and leave to cool. remove any fat and then your stock is ready to use.

this soup was a light supper and the stock a good alternative to a miso-based stock.

prawn and asparagus hot & sour soup (serves 2)

800ml prawn stock

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 red chilli, finely sliced

1cm ginger, finely sliced

1 stick lemon grass, bashed with a rolling pin

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

3 shallots, finely sliced

1 teaspoon tamarind paste

250g asparagus, trimmed and blanched for 1 minute

250g prawns

ready-cook noodles for two

put the stock, fish sauce, chilli, ginger, lemon grass and tamarind paste into a pan and simmer for 15 minutes.

heat the oil and fry the shallots until they are dark brown and crispy. set aside.

strain the stock, put it back in the pan and add the asparagus and prawns and simmer until they are cooked. add the noodles and lime juice, allow the noodles to warm through and serve with the shallots scattered on top.