SOUPS ARE a part of almost every meal in Thailand, from dawn to dusk and beyond. Unlike Western custom, however, they are not served before the meal. They either form the entire meal, in the case of a simple rice soup for breakfast or a rice noodle soup for lunch, or are served with a variety of other dishes, each one bringing different textures and flavours to the whole. When eating in a Thai restaurant, try for a balance of salad, soup, stir-fry, noodles, curry, etc, in addition to the major player, the steamed fragrant rice piled high on your plate.

Wet dishes such as soups and curries play off the drier dishes, relishes and the crunchy raw vegetables Thais consider a mandatory part of a good meal. At home, it is easier to capture the magic of Thai cuisine in a single bowl of soup than attempt a full menu. The two most famous Thai soups are the hot and sour tom yam goong with prawns, and the coconut-creamy tom yam gai with chicken and straw mushrooms. Today’s recipe is a play on typical Thai flavours, with spicy pork meatballs added to chicken broth spiked up with Thai fish sauce, lime juice and chilli. Rice vermicelli noodles add extra interest, and handfuls of herbs make up the necessary greenery. For a creamy soup, add 250ml coconut milk to the broth, but do not then boil or cover the soup as it may curdle.

THAI SOUP WITH PORKBALLS

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 15 min

A light, fragrant soup perfect for a spring evening

1.2 litres light chicken stock
2 tsp sugar
200g dried rice vermicelli, cooked
2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp torn coriander leaves
2 tbsp torn fresh mint or Thai basil

Pork balls:

1 tbsp jasmine rice
400g minced pork
2 garlic cloves, crushed
60g water chestnuts, finely chopped
1 tsp salt 1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp coriander leaves
1 small red chilli, sliced

METHOD

To make the pork balls, toast the rice in a dry fry pan until it starts to tan, then grind or pound into a coarse powder. In a food processor, combine the ground rice with the minced pork, garlic, water chestnuts, salt, sugar, fish sauce and coriander and half the sliced chilli, and whiz to a paste. Roll the mixture into 20 walnut-sized balls. Heat the chicken stock, sugar and remaining chilli in a saucepan. Add the pork balls and simmer for 6 min, skimming religiously. Add the cooked noodles, fish sauce and lime juice and heat through. Scatter with the coriander and mint and serve.

www.timesonline.co.uk/foodandwine — for previous recipes from T2