Chicken and Mushroom Soup Hot and Sour - serves 2

Preparation - 10 minutes, Cooking time - 15 minutes

1 lemon grass stalk
2 cups hot chicken stock
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced
2 tsp Thai red curry paste
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups shiitake mushrooms, sliced or canned straw mushrooms, halved
2 tsp dark brown sugar
2 tsp fish sauce
juice of 1 lemon
salt and ground black pepper
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 red chili, thinly sliced
handful of cilantro leaves

Flatten the lemon grass stalk with a rolling pin or meat mallet and place in a pan with the chicken stock, chicken, curry paste, and shallot; bring to a boil.
Add the mushrooms to the pan and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
Stir the sugar and fish sauce into the soup and simmer for 3 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
Squeeze in the lemon juice and season to taste.
Ladle the soup into bowls and scatter the scallion on top, chili and cilantro.
Serve immediately.