We hope you enjoy our cookery  column with chef Paul Watters who each week will take the fear out of cooking with his easy to follow recipes... 

Serves 2
 
For the soup
250g raw king prawns, peeled and deveined
100g rice noodles or fine egg noodles
1 litre fish or vegetable stock
2 tbsp Tom Yum paste(available in all good supermarkets or Asian)
1 stalk lemongrass, bruised and sliced
3–4 kaffir lime leaves, torn
2–3 slices fresh galangal or ginger
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 red chilli, sliced
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp lime juice, plus extra to taste
1 tsp palm sugar or brown sugar(palm sugar can be bought in all good stores)
100g sugar snap peas
1 small carrot, thinly sliced
1 baby corn, sliced lengthways
100g pak choi, separated
½ red pepper, sliced
Small handful bean sprouts (optional)
1 tsp sesame oil
 
Crispy chilli prawns
8 large raw prawns
3 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp chilli flakes
½ tsp smoked or sweet paprika
Pinch of salt
Vegetable oil for frying
 
To finish
Fresh coriander leaves, picked
Fresh red chilli, finely sliced
Lime wedges (optional)
Crispy chilli oil, (optional)
 
Method
Make the crispy prawns: Pat the prawns completely dry. Mix the cornflour, chilli flakes, paprika and salt, then coat the prawns thoroughly.
Heat about 1cm of oil in a frying pan and fry the prawns for 2–3 minutes per side until golden, crisp and cooked through.
 Drain on kitchen paper.
Make the Tom Yum broth: Put the stock into a saucepan with the lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, ginger, garlic and chilli. Simmer for 8–10 minutes.
 
Stir in the Tom Yum paste, fish sauce and sugar. Add the carrots, baby corn, sugar snaps and red pepper and cook for 2–3 minutes.
 
Add the noodles and pak choi. Simmer until the noodles are tender and the vegetables remain slightly crisp.
Add the prawns to the soup briefly, just long enough to warm them through. Stir in the lime juice and sesame oil. Taste and adjust with extra lime, fish sauce or chilli.
 
Divide the noodles and vegetables between two deep bowls and ladle over the Tom Yum broth.
 
Pile the crispy chilli prawns on top rather than putting them into the broth — this keeps them beautifully crunchy.
 
Finish Generously with picked coriander leaves, sliced chilli, a drizzle of crispy chilli oil and a wedge of lime.
 
Paul's tip: For the best presentation, keep the crispy prawns completely above the broth and garnish with coriander at the very last second.