Ingredients

For the stock

• 1.5 litres of vegetable stock made with Marigold stock powder
• 1 star anise
• 3 birds-eye  chilli split open and seeded
• 1 tbsp Thai red curry paste
• 1 stalk lemon grass, bruised
• 1 inch cube of peeled ginger, finely chopped
• 2  cloves of garlic, peeled, and finely chopped
• 1 stalk of celery, roughly chopped
• 1 carrot roughly copped
• 2 tomatoes roughly chopped
• 1 small red onion finely sliced
• heads and shells of 16 medium size tiger prawns
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
• groundnut oil for frying

For the instant soup?

• Finely shredded Chinese leaves
• Baby spinach leaves
• Very finely sliced small carrots
• Very finely sliced spring onion
• Bean sprouts
• Cooked noodles
• Chopped coriander
• 16 medium size tiger prawns shelled and de-veined ( keep shells for stock)

Method

1. Fry the onions until soft, then add the ginger and garlic and fry for another minute.
2. Add the red curry paste and  fry for a minute with the onions, ginger and garlic
3. Add the prawn heads and shells and cook for another minute
4. Add the remaining ingredients and the stock and bring to the boil
5. Simmer gently for 35 minutes.
6. Leave to cool slightly and then strain stock through a fine sieve.
7. Put stock in a clean pan and bring back to a simmer.
8. Check seasoning.
9. Put a mixture of the ?instant soup? ingredients into serving bowls.
10. Drop the prawns into the stock, bring back to a simmer and cook for a minute.
11. Add some prawns to each serving bowl.
12. Bring the stock up to the boil, and ladle the boiling stock into the serving bowls. The hot stock will cook the soup ingredients instantly. Serve.