I am not quite sure about the origins of this soup ? known better as Tom Yaam Talay ? because my original note goes back to an overseas trip nearly ten years ago and I cannot, for the life of me, remember where I first ate it and where I got the recipe from, but trust me, it is delicious!

I was looking for a recipe recently when a folded, fading recipe fell out of a book that had 'the easy way to make Tom Yaam Talay' on it. It didn't ring a bell so I tried it that night and what a pleasant surprise.

But be warned, you have to be a lover of hot and spicy for this soup, because hot it is.

The recipe is simple ? all you need for four portions is:

Ingredients

7 cups of chicken stock

4 lemon grass stalks (the bottled version is fine)

? teaspoon crushed black pepper corns

2 red or green chilies, split, seeds removed and finely chopped

4 tablespoons fish sauce

Juice of one lime (or lemon if you can?t find fresh lime)

? cup fresh coriander leaves, coarsely chopped

The seafood ingredients can vary according to taste and availability:

1 cup white fish, sliced into bite-sized chunks

1 cup shelled prawns or shrimps

1 cup calamari rings

1 cup shelled mussels

Method

In a saucepan place the stock, lemon grass, chili and pepper corns.

Bring to the boil for three minutes.

Add lime juice and fish stock and cook, covered for a further 3 minutes.

Add seafood, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until seafood is just done (six to nine minutes).

Sprinkle in the coriander and serve immediately in heated bowls.