Ingredients
- 1½ litres chicken stock
- 6 thick slices of ginger
- 2 star anise
- 4 lime leaves
- Shredded chicken (optional)
- 4 portobello mushrooms, sliced
- 3 spring onions, finely sliced
- ½ red chilli, finely diced
- 2 tbsp Chinese rice wine
- 2 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
- Black pepper, to taste
- 1 small bunch coriander, roughly chopped
- 2 large handfuls of baby spinach leaves
- 2 courgettes
- 2 carrots
- 2 limes, cut into wedges
1 Place the chicken stock, ginger, lime leaves and star anise in a large pot. Bring to the boil then simmer on a low heat for 30-40 minutes. The longer you can leave this to simmer gently, the better the soup will be.
2 Remove the ginger, star anise and lime leaves from the pot with a slotted spoon. Add the sliced mushrooms and chicken. Increase the heat. Leave to simmer for 10 minutes until the mushrooms are nicely cooked.
3 Add the rice wine, fish sauce and black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Add the spinach, coriander and chilli. Remove from the heat and gently stir until the spinach is wilted.
4 Grate the carrot and courgettes using a julienne peeler or slice finely into matchsticks. Place the vegetables into the serving bowls then ladle the hot soup on top. Serve with wedges of lime.
