So easy to make, I’ve placed this soup here as it will open up a world of great flavoured boil-together soups that take no time at all. If you want to go the whole hog, try making your own chilli paste. This is similar to a Tom Yum soup, but if you replace the stock with watered-down coconut milk, it’ll be along the lines of a Tom Ka.

Look for balance in this soup — it should be sour, hot, salty and sweet. The sweetness is there to round out the middle palate so that the other flavo