This recipe comes from Phaidon’s Thailand cookbook. Not only is the cookbook filled with hundreds of exotic recipes, there are plenty of photographs of the Thai people, their land and lifestyle.

This is probably one of the easiest meals I’ve made. Outside of cleaning the shrimp, the soup takes minutes to make. I served it with a loaf of Tuscan bread that I, admittedly, bought because I liked the way it looked, and a bottle of chilled sauvignon blanc. Enjoy!

Serves 2

2 cups (16 fl. oz/475 ml) coconut milk

1 Tbsp. shrimp paste (I used oyster sauce instead)

1 Tsp. granulated sugar

1/2 Tsp. salt

1 handful of melinjo leaves or young spinach

4-5 uncooked shrimp (prawns) (I used 8), peeled and deveined, tails still intact

Bring the coconut milk to a boil in a large pan. Add (whisk in) the shrimp paste (or oyster sauce), sugar, and salt, then stir and return to a boil. Add the melinjo leaves and shrimp, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for two minutes or until the shrimp are cooked. Ladle into soup bowls and serve.