Tom Yum Kung with wild prawns and thai basil

• 2 tbsp red curry paste 
• 1 lemongrass stalk, crushed and chopped
• 1 tbsp peeled and sliced fresh galangal root
• 3 kaffir lime leaves
• 250ml / 8fl oz / 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 litre / 1 ¾ pints / 4¼ cups shellfish stock
• 350g / 12oz MSC certified large raw prawns (shrimp), peeled and deveined
• 150g / 5oz sugar snap peas, ends and edges trimmed
• 200g / 7oz oyster mushrooms, sliced
• 100g / 3½ oz bean sprouts
• handful of Thai basil leaves, coarsely chopped
• handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1 small red chilli (chile), deseeded, thinly sliced
• 1 lime, cut into wedges 
• groundnut (peanut) oil for frying
  salt

When shopping, look for the MSC blue fish tick on your seafood to know it's sustainable.

Prawns (shrimp) have a strong enough flavour to cope with the addition of fiery Asian root spices like the galangal and ginger from the red curry paste. While the meaty texture works well with the creaminess of the coconut milk. Tom Yang Kung is super-quick to make and packed with flavour.

1. Heat a little groundnut (peanut) oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat, add the curry paste and fry for 1 minute.
2. Add the lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves, coconut milk and stock.
3. Bring to the boil and add the prawns (shrimp) and sugar snap peas,
4. Turn the heat down to low and leave to simmer for 3 minutes.
5. Lastly add the oyster mushrooms and cook for a further 3 minutes.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serving instructions

Ladle the soup into four bowls and serve topped with the bean sprouts, Thai basil, coriander (cilantro) and chilli (chile) slices.

Accompany with lime wedges to squeeze over.

Photo credit: David Loftus

Recipes taken from Bart’s Fish Tales by Bart van Olphen, published by Pavilion Books.