Thai Prawn Rice Soup (Khao Tom Goong)

A delicate rice soup made on prawn-shell stock with plenty of ginger, celery and ribbons of egg.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 25 min
Cook: 35 min
Total: 1 hour
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Very Easy

Ingredients

  • 400g raw shell-on king prawns
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1.2 litres water
  • 5cm fresh root ginger, thinly sliced
  • 150g jasmine rice, rinsed
  • 2 celery sticks, thinly sliced, leaves reserved
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp ground white pepper
  • 3 spring onions, sliced
  • 3 tbsp fried garlic, shop-bought or home-made
  • 1 lime, cut into wedges

Method

  1. Peel the prawns, leaving the tails on, and devein. Chill them. Keep the heads and shells.

  2. Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the shells and heads for 3 minutes until orange. Add the water and ginger, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain into a clean pan.

  3. Return the broth to the boil, add the rice and simmer for 15 minutes until the grains are soft and the soup is lightly thickened.

  4. Add the celery and prawns and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the prawns are pink.

  5. Slowly pour in the beaten eggs in a thin stream, stirring gently once, so they set in ribbons.

  6. Season with the fish sauce and white pepper. Ladle into bowls and top with the spring onions, celery leaves and fried garlic. Serve with lime wedges.