(serves 4-6 Asian style banquet)

This is a recipe given to me by one of my favourite chefs, Australian Paul Blain, who runs a Thai cooking school with accommodation, called The Tamarind, outside of Noosa. Serve this soup with some other Thai dishes if you are entertaining but I enjoy it as an everyday meal with side bowls of rice.

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

• Cut salmon fillet in 2cm wide fingers across fillet, and then slice widthwise into 2mm-3mm thin slivers.
• Place chilli paste in a frypan over a medium heat and cook until it becomes aromatic. Repeat this process with the chillies.
• In a saucepan over a medium heat, place coconut milk, galangal, lemongrass, coriander root, chilli paste, chillies and fish sauce. Slightly crush kaffir lime leaves with your hands and add to saucepan. Bring to a very slow simmer. Turn off heat and allow to infuse for up to 30 minutes.
• Add salmon and stir gently to prevent it from clumping. Discontinue stirring and bring soup back to simmer so that the salmon only just cooks. (If the soup is too thick for your liking add a little water to dilute.)
• Remove soup from heat and stir in lime juice. Correct seasoning with additional fish sauce or lime juice to taste, and ladle into a large serving bowl or individual bowls.
• Garnish with coriander leaves, Crispy Fried Garlic and serve. Click link to view Crispy Fried Garlic recipe.