Tom yum goong

Step 1: Pull the heads and shells off 14 oz raw king prawns and devein the bodies, leaving the tails on. Keep the peeled prawns in the fridge while you make the stock, and wash your board and hands afterwards.

Step 2: Put the heads and shells in a saucepan with 4 ¼ cups water and bring to the boil over a high heat. Simmer for 5 minutes, pressing the heads with a spoon to release their orange juices, then strain the stock back into the pan and throw away the shells.

Step 3: Add 2 stalks lemongrass, 1 oz galangal, 6 makrut lime leaves and 2 shallots and simmer over a medium heat for 5 minutes, until the kitchen smells strongly of lemongrass.

Step 4: Add 5 ½ oz straw or oyster mushrooms and 5 bird's eye chillies and simmer for 2 minutes, until the mushrooms soften.

Step 5: Stir in 1 tbsp Thai roasted chilli paste (nam prik pao), 3 tbsp fish sauce and ½ tsp sugar. Slide in the peeled prawns and simmer gently for 2–3 minutes, just until they curl and turn pink and opaque all the way through. Keep it at a gentle bubble; hard boiling makes prawns rubbery in seconds.

Step 6: Take the pan off the heat and only then stir in 4 tbsp lime juice. The usual mistake is boiling the lime, which turns it bitter and flat. Taste: sour should come first, then salt, then heat; add a little more lime or fish sauce to balance.

Step 7: Ladle into bowls, scatter over 1 handful coriander leaves and serve straight away with 1 ⅓ lb cooked jasmine rice. Eat around the lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves.