Thai mushroom soup

This is a simple but tasty recipe which you can tailor to your favourite mushrooms, or indeed whichever mushrooms you happen to have to hand. Vary the amount of chili to fit your own taste buds - I like mine quite hot, to open up the sinus on a dreary, damp winter's day. You can also use dried mushrooms in this dish - pour over hot water, bring to a simmer for 5 minutes, then steep for an hour. Reserve the liquid (strained through a fine sieve) and use in the soup.

Recipe

1 cup sliced button or chestnut mushrooms
1 cup sliced wild or exotic mushrooms of your choice (shitake, oyster, enoki, straw, etc.)
1 cup bamboo shoots, sliced
1/2 cup tinned or frozen lotus roots, sliced
1 tsp galangal, thinly sliced
1 stalk lemongrass, sliced and bruised
2-3 chilis, sliced or minced*
2-3 kafir lime leaves
1 tbsp rice floor
2 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tsp fish sauce

Add all the ingredients to a pan along with a few cups of water and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until all the vegetables are cooked.

* Slicing the chilies gives a clearer appearance to the final soup, however it does mean your dinners will get bursts of chili as they eat the slices (or have to pick them out to avoid that). Mincing the chilies gives a more even heat, and colours the soup slightly red.

Serves: 2-3
Preparation and cooking time: 10 minutes