The next time you have a “what to eat for dinner?” emergency, reach for a jar of shop-bought tom yum paste. It brings a distinct sweet, sour and spicy profile to anything it touches, and I’ve used it to rescue meals for the best part of my adult life. You can buy it in large supermarkets, online or at Asian food stores. Combined with stock, you can easily create a speedy take on Thai tom yum soup, or toss it with roast sweet potatoes for caramelised wedges bursting with heat and umami.
15-minute tom yum soup (pictured above)
From first chop to first slurp takes a quarter of an hour. It’s flexible, too: swap the protein or veg for whatever you have to hand. The intestinal tracts of the prawns aren’t harmful, so for speed I’ve opted not to devein them, but if you have the time or inclination, go for it.
Prep 5 min
Cook 10 min
Serves 2
100g dried rice noodles
2 eggs
Fine salt and pepper
750ml water
3-5 tbsp tom yum paste (seasoned to taste)
165g raw prawns
100g shiitake mushrooms, stalks removed and sliced wafer-thin
50g beansprouts
15g picked coriander leaves, to garnish
Boil the kettle and soak the noodles as per the packet instructions. Fill and boil the kettle again.
Put the eggs in a saucepan and add cold water and a teaspoon of salt until the eggs are just submerged. Cover with a lid, bring to a boil, then turn down to a rolling simmer and cook for six minutes. Drain, run the eggs under cold water, then peel, cut in half and set aside.
Fill another saucepan with 750ml boiling water from the kettle, add three tablespoons of the tom yum paste and stir to dissolve. Taste the broth and add more paste until you achieve your desired flavour intensity (brands differ, so the quantity of paste needed will vary).
Bring the liquid to a boil, add the prawns, then immediately turn down the heat and poach gently for 30 seconds, or until pink and just cooked through. Stir in the mushrooms and take off the heat.
Drain the noodles and divide them between two bowls. Pour the hot broth, prawns and mushrooms over the noodles and top with the beansprouts and egg halves. Garnish with a handful of coriander and serve immediately.
UK readers: click to buy these ingredients from Ocado
Tom yum sweet potato wedges, or in a salad with feta, pistachios and coriander
These wedges make an incredible side dish, but they can also be transformed into this salad of dreams.
Prep 10 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 4 as a side
For the wedges
2 tbsp tom yum paste
3 tbsp neutral oil, such as sunflower or rapeseed
600g sweet potatoes, unpeeled, cut into wedges
Sea salt and black pepper
1 whole garlic head, cut in half horizontally
For the salad (optional)
50g feta, crumbled
30 pistachios, shelled
2 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 handful (10g) coriander leaves
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Combine the tom yum paste and oil in a bowl, then add the sweet potato wedges and toss to coat. Arrange on a large baking tray in a single layer, season generously, then nestle the two halves of the garlic head in among the wedges. Bake for 40 minutes, until caramelised on the outside and cooked through, then squeeze the roast garlic flesh out of their skins, toss with the wedges and serve immediately.
Alternatively, to turn the cooked wedges into a glorious salad, mix them with the feta, pistachios, spring onions and coriander, toss to combine and serve.
UK readers: click to buy these ingredients from Ocado
• Lara Lee is the author of Coconut & Sambal: Recipes from my Indonesian Kitchen, published by Bloomsbury
