When preparing the shellfish feast I collect and freeze the shells as they make such a good bisque or clear soup. If you have such a supply, you can use it and buy only large prawn tails.. Otherwise just buy your prawns with the head and shells on.
for 4
Soup
- 500g large raw shrimps with the heads and shells on
- 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 small leek, roughly chopped and washed
- 1 stick of lemon grass, roughly chopped
- 2 lime leaves
- A small piece (about 20g) of root ginger or galangal
- 3 cloves of garlic
- Stalks from Thai basil and coriander
- ½ litres fish stock (a good cube will do)
- 3tbsp Thai fish sauce
for the garnish
- 1 stick of lemon grass, outer leaves trimmed off, and chopped
- 4 lime leaves
- A small piece of root ginger, peeled and shredded
- 1 mild red chilli, seeded and shredded
- 2 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced on the angle
- A few sprigs of Thai basil
- A few sprigs of coriander
- 60g Oriental mushrooms – enoki or hoi shemegi
- Remove the shells and heads from the prawns, leaving the tail on.
- Put the meat in the fridge.
- Wash the shells and put them in a saucepan with the rest of the soup ingredients.
- Bring to the boil and simmer gently, skimming regularly, for 1 hour.
- Strain the soup through a fine meshed sieve into a clean pan and season with salt and pepper if necessary.
- Run a small knife along the back of the prawns and remove the black entrails with your fingers under the tap.
- Put the prawns and the rest of the ingredients for the garnish in the soup and simmer for 4-5 minutes and serve.