Thai Prawn and Shrimp Floss Soup with White Pepper and Runny Eggs
This dish has never been on the Farang menu. It's too simple, too unfussy for that. What it is instead is the thing we make for staff when we're in a rush, when someone's not feeling great, or when the previous night has been a heavy one. It has genuine healing properties. I can't explain the science of it but I can tell you it works.
The key ingredients are worth talking about. Shrimp floss sounds exotic but it's just dried shrimp - the kind you can pick up frozen from any Asian supermarket - roasted gently in the oven until completely dry, then pounded in a pestle and mortar or blitzed in a spice grinder until you get a light, fluffy, flossy, salty powder. It dissolves into sauces, drops into soups and curries, scatters over salads. It's one of the best all-round flavour enhancers I know and once you've made a batch you'll find yourself reaching for it constantly.
White pepper is the other thing doing heavy lifting here. In a clear broth it gives a mild, clean heat that black pepper can't replicate - delicate but powerful at the same time. Pair it with a little salt and palm sugar in a simple stock and it transforms something bland into something with real depth. As with all whole spices, toast it yourself and grind it fresh. The difference is not subtle.
The egg is not optional. Or it is, technically, but you'd be making the wrong call. The cooked whites add texture to the broth and as you eat, the yolk runs into the hot soup and cooks into it, adding richness and depth that you simply don't get from a hard boiled egg. If runny eggs genuinely aren't for you, chop a hard boiled one on top instead. But try it the right way first.
Eat this over jasmine rice if you want a proper meal out of it. The rice soaks up the broth and makes the whole thing more substantial. Either way, eat it hot and eat it fast.
Thai Prawn and Shrimp Floss Soup with White Pepper and Runny Eggs
Serves: 4 | Prep: 20 mins | Cook: 25 mins | Total: 45 mins
Ingredients
For the shrimp floss
100g dried shrimp, available frozen from Asian supermarkets
For the soup
500g raw king prawns, peeled and deveined (save the shells)
1.2 litres chicken or prawn stock
2 tsp white pepper, toasted and freshly ground
3-4 bird's eye chillies, bruised in a pestle and mortar
2 long red chillies, bruised in a pestle and mortar
3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
2 shallots, finely sliced
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp palm sugar
2 tbsp lime juice
Large handful Thai basil leaves
Vegetable oil for frying
To serve
4 hen's eggs
Steamed jasmine rice
Extra shrimp floss to finish
Method
Make the shrimp floss first. Spread the dried shrimp on a baking tray and roast at 150°C fan for around 15-20 minutes until completely dry and fragrant. Leave to cool then pound in a pestle and mortar or blitz in a spice grinder until you have a light, fluffy powder. Set aside - any extra keeps well in a jar.
If using prawn shells, fry them dry in a pan for 2-3 minutes until fragrant, add to your stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain and discard the shells.
Heat around 5cm of vegetable oil in a wok or deep pan to 160°C. Fry the sliced shallots until golden and crispy, 2-3 minutes. Remove and drain. Fry the garlic slices separately for 1-2 minutes until golden. Set both aside.
Bring a pan of water to the boil and lower the eggs in carefully. Cook for 6 minutes for a properly runny yolk, 7 if you want it a little more set. Transfer straight to ice cold water, then peel when cool enough to handle.
Bring the stock to a gentle simmer in a large pan. Add the bruised chillies, soy sauce, palm sugar and white pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the prawns and cook for 2-3 minutes until just pink and cooked through. The broth should be salty, a little sweet and clean with white pepper heat. More soy for salt, more lime for brightness, more pepper if you want more heat.
Stir through 3 tbsp of shrimp floss and remove from heat. Add the crispy shallots, garlic and Thai basil.
Serve immediately in bowls over jasmine rice. Halve the soft boiled eggs and place cut side up in the broth. Scatter a little more shrimp floss over the top.
Chef's notes
Toast the white pepper yourself in a dry pan before grinding - it makes a real difference to the flavour. Same goes for the dried shrimp - the roasting step is what takes it from fishy and flat to nutty and complex.
The soup is best eaten immediately while the crispy aromatics still have some texture. It keeps in the fridge for a day but cook fresh eggs each time.
Visit us at faranglondon.co.uk. Sauces and pastes for cooking Thai at home at payst.co.uk.
For more recipes, signed copies of my cookbooks are available at Payst: Cook Thai and Thai in 7.
Head chef & founder of Farang London restaurant. Cookbook author of ‘Cook Thai’ & ‘Thai in 7’. Chief curry paste basher and co-founder of Payst London.