I love Thai food and so when I came across a jar of Tom Yum paste in Tesco I thought I would see what I could put together. Tom yum soup is not usually made with coconut milk, it’s more of a clear broth, but I added a little to mine for a creamier flavour (the other half loves a creamy dish). The result was incredible. So easy to put together and so fresh and filling, it really is worth giving a go. Feel free to omit the coconut milk for a lower points option. I used prawns as well as chicken as I had some in but again, feel free to leave out one or the other.

Ingredients

Serves 2 = 13 sp (previously 12pp) with coconut milk, 9sp (previously 9pp) without

½ litre chicken stock (made with 1/2 chicken stock cube)

3 tsp tom yum paste (I got mine from Tesco)

1 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

Thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated

2 kaffir lime leaves

½ tsp fish sauce

1 tsp brown sugar

1 lime halved and juiced

2 large mushrooms, sliced

Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

Handful of green beans, roughly chopped

200g roast chicken, light meat, shredded

100g frozen prawns (optional – reduce by 1sp if omitted)

200ml light coconut milk

Large handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

1 spring onion, sliced and one chilli finely sliced (optional, to serve)

100g Flat rice noodles (I got mine in Tesco)

Method

Pop the noodles in a large bowl, cover with 1 litre of boiling water and soak for 10-12 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water and pop to one side.

While the noodles are soaking, you can get on with making the soup.

Pop ½ litre boiling water in a large pan and throw in 1 chicken stock cube and simmer until it dissolves. Add 3 tsp of tom yum paste, stir and then add the garlic, ginger and kaffir lime leaves. Simmer for another minute or two and then add the fish sauce, brown sugar and lime juice. Simmer for a minute so the flavours begin to combine and then add the tomatoes, mushrooms and green beans. Simmer for 3-4 minutes (until the green beans start to soften) and then add the chicken and prawns. Once the chicken is heated through, add the coconut milk and simmer for another few minutes until nice and creamy.  Finally throw in the coriander and stir through.

To serve, spilt the rice noodles between two deep bowls. Then top with the tom yum soup and scatter with the chillies and spring onions.