You might think that as I grew up in Ireland hot and sour soup wouldn’t necessarily be on my radar, but I have been drawn to these Asian flavours for as long as I have been cooking in the kitchen. A welcome break from the norm, I loved experimenting with recipes found in Asian cookery books and this soup became a regular.
1.25 litres chicken stock
3 lemongrass stalks, smashed with the back of a knife
Large thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
Pared rind and juice of 2 limes 2 red chillies, thinly sliced
6 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 small pumpkin, peeled and cut into cubes
125g oyster mushrooms, ends trimmed
1 tbsp sh sauce
1 large free-range egg, beaten
Large handful of fresh coriander, Thai basil and mint, leaves torn
Large pan