Apron Heaven

Nothing – repeat Nothing – beats Thai food as an international cuisine. And today is your lucky day, as I share with you what is (in my humble opinion), possibly the best recipe for Thai noodle soup you’ll find anywhere in the world. Inspired from my travels to the northern part of the country around Chiang Mai and Pai, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve made it. Now I share it with you. No more will you have to settle for dour Chinese takeaways and fish n’ chips every other night! So here it goes… You’ll need:

•  2 x tablespoons of groundnut oil
• 3 onions or 7 shallots
• 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 3 hot chilies (red or green)
• 2 teaspoons of brown sugar
• As many cloves of garlic as you like!
• 2 inches of Thai galangal (obtainable from most supermarkets – use ginger if you can’t obtain)
• 1/2 cauliflower (chopped)
• 1/2 broccoli (chopped)
• 3 carrots (chopped)
• 2 pints of beef or chicken stock
• 2 packs of rice noodles
• 2lbs of chicken or beef (chopped into small pieces)
• Juice of half a lime
• Chopped coriander (to garnish)
• 1 large wok and a wooden spoon

Before you start cooking, make sure you’re wearing your finest protective apron! Fry the groundnut oil for a couple of minutes, whilst boiling the chopped vegetables (use other veg if you’re not partial to carrots or cauliflower!). Then add the chopped chilli, garlic and galangal ginger. Once the veg are soft and these to the mix too. Cook the chicken/beef separately until tender then add these. After a few minutes add your stock, fish sauce and sugar, and allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes. Now add the rice noodles, which will only need cooking for a 3-4 minutes – before serving in individual bowls and sprinkling with the chopped coriander. Simple. Enjoy!