Kaeng Liang

Ingredients

• 1 tsp white peppercorns
• 5 shallots, peeled
• 1 tbsp shrimp paste (kapi)
• 40 g dried shrimp
• 1 litre water or light stock
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 200 g angled luffa (buap), peeled and cut into chunks
• 200 g pumpkin, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes
• 100 g straw mushrooms, halved
• 100 g baby corn, halved lengthways
• 100 g ivy gourd leaves or spinach
• 1 very large handful lemon basil leaves (bai maenglak)

Before you cook

• Soak the dried shrimp in warm water for 10 minutes, then drain them.
• Pound the white peppercorns to a powder in a mortar.
• Add the shallots, shrimp paste and drained dried shrimp and pound to a coarse, damp paste.
• Peel and chunk the luffa and the pumpkin, then halve the mushrooms and baby corn.
• Pick the lemon basil leaves off their stems.

Steps

1. Bring the water to a boil in a pot.
2. Stir the pounded paste into the boiling water until it disperses evenly.
3. Simmer for 5 minutes so the shrimp paste loses its raw edge and the broth turns cloudy and savoury.
4. Add the pumpkin and simmer for 6 minutes, until it is nearly tender.
5. Add the baby corn and the straw mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes.
6. Add the luffa and cook for just 2 minutes, because it slips from crisp to slimy very quickly.
7. Season with the fish sauce and taste: this soup should be peppery and clean, with no chilli and no sugar anywhere in it.
8. Drop in the leafy greens and push them under the surface with a spoon.
9. Turn off the heat immediately and stir in the whole handful of lemon basil.
10. Cover the pot for 1 minute so the basil perfumes the broth.
11. Ladle into bowls and serve with plain rice.